Hide and Seek
by Vincent von Dreyfus
Summary: The daughter of a Jynx governess has been kidnapped by an unknown Pokemon. In search of the princess, a Girafarig and a Charmeleon have ventured down into a haunted mansion. With the help of an old Kadabra, will they solve the mystery of kidnapping?
1. A Game of Hide and Seek

**Author's Note:** If this chapter looks a bit different to you, don't worry! It isn't your eyes. I've improved my writing style since this was written back in November, so I'm going back through my early chapters to fix inconsistencies with later chapters, improve on details, cut down on the descriptions that were so _disastrous_ in this first chapter, and all around make these chapters better.

Now then, if you haven't read this story before, there's a few things to be aware of. It isn't touched on all that much in the story, but this story takes place in a different World of Pokemon than in the games. It follows the same mechanics, but the important difference is that in this World of Pokemon, humans don't exist--instead, their roles are taken by a humanoid variety of Pokemon. Throughout the story the characters will interact with both these humanoid Pokemon and the "feral/wild" Pokemon from the games, which are just ordinary non-humanoid Pokemon (unless, of course, they are Mr. Mimes or something). I mention this because the story's world has no word to discern between the two other than the narrator's use of "humanoid," and the occasional mention of the word "feral" or "wild." If I hadn't mentioned this, it may have been a bit confusing. Just remember: assume that if it talks it's a humanoid Pokemon, unless the description states otherwise.

Also, please please please at least read Chapters 1 _and _2 before saying you dislike it. Chapter 1 has several lengthy descriptions, but all the later chapters don't include those giant explanations of the Pokemon World.

And finally, (this goes for all chapters) Pokemon is owned by Nintendo, and I don't own Pokemon in any sort of way. Oh, but the characters are mine.

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**Chapter 1: A Game of Hide-and-Seek**

Graham began carefully inching towards the closet. "Cookies are good for your spleen!" his tail nervously whispered.

"Quiet," Graham hushed back.

His tail grudgingly replied, "This will train your prefrontal cortex, foo!" Graham just rolled his eyes and stealthily crept closer to the closet. His light blue cloven hooves tapped lightly on the tiled peach floor. He started sweating underneath his fur from the stress; he could just use his Psychic powers to see the demon that lay behind the closet door, but that would be cheating. Unfortunately for Graham, not only was it a struggle to keep his mind locked away, but he had to keep his _tail's_ mind locked up too.

Graham made it to the closet door. Slowly and silently, he used his yellow, hoofed hand to turn the golden brass knob. Not even a Whismur would have been able to hear him. He opened the door with such silence, such grace, that the result only served to infuriate him. "BOO!" yelled Sophia the Charmeleon as she ran out of the closet and speedily darted away, just barely missing the rigorous snapping of Graham's tail's sharp teeth. Graham could only stand where he was in awe. "Sophia, you're it and you know it!" he called behind him, frustrated with his friend's escape. "Come back here!"

Sophia shook her scaly maroon head and kept running. As she shot around the corner she called back, "This is Hide-and-Go-Seek _Tag_, not plain old Hide-and-Go-Seek! You have to catch me, even though we all know _that's_ impossible!"

"Well, Tail," Graham frustratedly muttered to himself, "this is what our hooves are made for." With only those words the Girafarig dashed off after his fiery friend. Graham Hopkins was a humanoid Girafarig boy around the age of 16. As was typical of his giraffe-like species, he was tall and thin, with spindly legs and a long, long neck. From half of his stomach up, his body was for the most part covered in a thin, velvety layer of yellow fur. In a line along the sides of his body and neck were large, rectangular brown spots. The bottom half of his head (or what he called his "main head") was yellow like his neck, while his bulbous ossicones and the top of his head starting from just above his ears and running down through his eyes to his snout was a slightly bluish white. His snout and upper jaw were colored the same shade of pink as the triangular spikes running down from the back of his head to just above his rump.

From the middle of his stomach down, Graham was covered in a thin, velvety layer of dark brown fur matching the color of his brown spots. Likewise, from the middle of his stomach down to his thighs he had large, rectangular yellow spots on his sides matching a slightly darker shade of the color of his yellow neck. On each hand his fingers had hard blue hoof-like tips, and similarly on each foot his two toes ended with his cloven hooves. His tail was short, brown, and thin like a cord. At its tip was a large bulbous orb with golden yellow eyes and gleaming razor-sharp teeth. An important characteristic of the Girafarig species, this orb was a second head. Though incapable of speaking in fluent sentences, this snarling dog-like head had a brain of its own. Although most people just referred to Graham and his tail as one in the same, Graham specifically called his tail "Tail," and referred to himself as "we" instead of just "I" (unless, of course, he was only talking about his main head). Tail wasn't very capable of logical conversation, but Graham enjoyed his company all the same.

Like all Pokemon, Graham was capable of fighting. This didn't mean was a streetfighter, but it did mean he had special abilities that could be used for fighting, adventuring, or just daily life. Every species of Pokemon had a different collection of abilities, typically specializing in one or two natural elements. There were eleven elements total; there were everyday ones such as martial fighting skills and the capability of flight, and there were special ones such as the manipulation of fire and water. Girafarigs specialized for the most part in instinctual behavior ("Normal" techniques such as stomping, growling, or headbutting) and in controlling their environments with their minds ("Psychic" techniques such as telekinesis, beams of mental energy, or even reading people's minds). Graham's tail could assist his main head in this aspect as well, providing brutal and savage tricks ("Dark" techniques such as biting) that a Normal or a Psychic Pokemon normally wouldn't have. So Graham was above average amongst his peers when it came to headbutting things or moving objects with his mind, but his tail had a mean bite that could help in pinches.

Sophia Flarison, the girl Graham was chasing after, wasn't a Girafarig. She was a member of the Charmander line. Unlike a few species of Pokemon (such as Girafarigs), many species changed their shape as time progresses. For most of these Pokemon, change ("evolution") could occur as the Pokemon grew older and more experienced. A Pokemon could change once, twice, or even three times, depending on its species (generally called "lines" when referring to evolving Pokemon). Charmanders could evolve twice, and Sophia was at the Stage 1 level (meaning she had evolved once). She and all the other Stage 1 Charmanders were not called "Charmanders," but instead were called "Charmeleons." Later in life, Sophia would change for her second and final time, becoming a Stage 2 "Charizard." Other Pokemon lines didn't evolve from the passage of time but instead from special experiences in their lives. In the Eevee line, for example, an Eevee could easily proceed to be an Eevee for the rest of its life. Alternatively, by finding and touching a Water Stone it could evolve into a Vaporeon. A few Pokemon could evolve by other means, such as by spending time away from home (i.e. Kadabra to Alakazam), traveling abroad while in the possession of a special object (i.e. Seadra to Kingdra), experiencing a state of euphoria (i.e. Eevee to Espeon), learning a special ability (i.e. Lickitung to Lickylicky), or even just from improving their appearances (i.e. Feebas to Milotic). There were so many different ways for Pokemon to evolve, actually, that some Pokemon Professors spent their entire lives researching those methods.

Sophia was about the same age as Graham. She was shorter than him, but compared to most of her peers she was about average in height. Almost her entire body, which resembled something like a cross between a humanoid salamander and a therapod dinosaur, was covered in shiny maroon scales, but her underside was a tannish yellow. At the back of her head she had a small crest. Her eyes were blue-green and full of energy, commonly noted at being "full of intrigue." Each of Sophia's hands had three fingers plus the thumb, all of which ended with long and sharp claws. Her three-toed dinosaur-like feet were clawed similarly. Sophia's tail was long and slender--though slightly heavy--and was coated at the tip with a bright yellow flame, characteristic of the Charmander line. If her tail's flame were ever to go out, Sophia would die. Sophia's special abilities mainly revolved around the manipulation of fire and fire alone; though many Pokemon could master two particular elements, some--such as Sophia--were limited to a single one. Upon evolution, though, Sophia the Charizard would add flight to her roster.

Graham hastily turned the corner, only to find nobody in the quiet office but Sophia's father, Dr. Flarison. Dr. Flarison was the Pokemon Professor of the county they lived in, and he was therefore the local know-it-all when it came to Pokemon. He glanced up at Graham with surprise when the Girafarig came bounding into the room. His thoughtful eyes scanned Graham through crystal-clear spectacles, shiny from having smoke wiped from them so much. Dr. Flarison, like his son Daniel, was covered in vivid orange scales, in contrast with Sophia's maroon scales. A Charizard, Dr. Flarison looked far more like a classic fairy tale dragon than his two children did. His draconian head ended with a crest much longer than Sophia's, and sat at the top of a long neck. Sticking through two holes in the back of Dr. Flarison's classic lab coat was a pair of large, folded up orange wings with blue membranes connecting the fingers. Like his son and daughter, Dr. Flarison also had a long, powerful tail with a flame at the tip. The lab coat he wore had been a clean, pure white when he bought it. Now, just three months since the purchase, it was light grey with random splotches of a darker, smokier grey. Dr. Flarison was a powerful Fire Pokemon, and as such it was difficult to keep the smoke of his fire powers off his clothes and spectacles, not to mention the smoke that rose from his nostrils on a daily basis. It was so difficult that every Saturday a Mr. Mime housecleaner he hired came in to wipe the smoke off of the furniture and walls.

"Is there something I can help you with?" Dr. Flarison calmly asked, setting his pencil down to show he was giving Graham his full attention. As draconian as his appearance was, Dr. Flarison's voice was fatherly and somewhat clear, though there was a certain rumbling tone to it. "You certainly came in here in a hurry."

"Did Sophia happen to go this way?" Graham hurriedly inquired.

Dr. Flarison relaxedly leaned back in his chair and chuckled. It sounded more like a growl, but he was after all a dragon. A calm smile stretched its way across his muzzle; Graham didn't feel this was a time to be so calm and relaxed, and it was beginning to get on his nerves. "No, I haven't seen her all day," he quietly answered. Graham gave a frustrated sigh. He could tell Dr. Flarison was lying. Unfortunately for him, Graham wasn't the kind of Psychic Pokemon that could read minds to see what Dr. Flarison really knew, nor was he the kind that could utilize clairvoyance and just see where Sophia was hiding. And even then, despite his handicaps, when they decided to play this game he and Sophia agreed that they wouldn't use their special abilities. So he could do nothing more but ask another question. "Do you think you know where she might be?"

Dr. Flarison chuckled again. Fully aware of Graham and Sophia's game, he jokingly replied, "I plead the Fifth Amendment."

"Oh come on!" Graham blurted out, angry that no matter how many times they played the game Dr. Flarison always protected Sophia but was always willing to give out Graham's hiding place if he was bribed enough.

"Cheese is a mouse's favorite food!" Tail groaned, equally angry.

"Sorry Graham, I can't tell you," Dr. Flarison said as he leaned forward and picked up his pencil, obviously done with the conversation. "You know I can't rat on my daughter. You'll have to find her on your own, I have work to do." Without a single additional word the Pokemon Professor looked down at his papers and continued from where he left off. Defeated, Graham hurried out of the room.

He turned another corner and stopped to think. He had sworn Sophia had gone in the direction of the office. So where else could she have possibly gone? All of the sudden his tail started barking. Graham's main head jumped a mile high in surprise. "Blistering barnacles!" his tail quickly explained to his main head. Graham spun around and immediately spotted Sophia sneaking out of the office.

"Aha, I have you now!" he cheered with a smile.

"Gotta catch me first, talking butt boy!" Sophia taunted, sticking her blue reptilian tongue out. She darted into the room across from the office, the living room. Graham was right on her tail.

Sophia's younger brother Daniel was in the living room watching television. Daniel Flarison was the youngest Pokemon in the household, and was the only one to have not evolved yet (apart from Graham, whose species never evolved). The Charmander's bald round head shone in the light coming through the windows of the room. He was only 10, six years younger than Sophia. He had begun yelling seconds before Graham had entered the room; Daniel was easy to irritate, especially when the offender was his sister. The two picked on each other often. "Sophia, Graham, you guys are bugging me! Can't you play somewhere else?" he loudly whined.

"Hey Danny," Sophia speedily greeted as she dashed around to the side of the couch opposite of Graham. She and Daniel's friends called Daniel "Danny," though Dr. Flarison and most of the adults still stuck with "Daniel." "What'cha watching?" she panted, slowly edging around the couch to avoid Graham.

What she had glimpsed when she had entered the room was a public service announcement of sorts, asking the public to report a lost Smoochum girl if they saw her; but by the time she asked the commercials had ended. The obnoxious laughter and the cartoon depictions of an overly optimistic Corsola, a dopey Staryu, an emotionless Octillery, and a greedy Kingler should have made it a dead giveaway. Danny told her anyway. "Corsolacarl Pokeypants. And I'd rather you move!" the Charmander added as Sophia began to block his view of the television.

"Sure, Fire Breath," Sophia jokingly teased, "just as soon as I've exhausted this overgrown Stantler." Graham feinted a move to the left and got Sophia darting right; he had meant for this to happen and quickly he hurried after her out into the backyard. "We'll show YOU who's an overgrown Stantler!" he called after her.

"Hotcakes!" added his tail.

Graham easily chased down Sophia; the salamander's stubby legs couldn't carry her faster than the thin ones Graham stood on. He lightly tapped Sophia on the shoulder with his hand and the two stopped in the brown grass, laughing and panting at the same time. "If I'm anything," Sophia huffed, "I'm a Slugma. Jeepers creepers, Graham, you're _fast_! I didn't know you were _that_ athletic!"

Graham and his tail blushed underneath their fur. He rubbed his hand against the back of his main head. "Well, we kinda, you know..." he mumbled.

Sophia gasped in astonishment. "Graham, you didn't!"

Now Graham hung his head in shame. "...Yes. We used Agility."

Sophia laughed. Her laughter had that same growling rumble as her father's, though not as ferocious. "Well then, in that case, I, Sophia Flarison, am the WINNER!" She made a victory roar into the air, throwing in a few flames for added effect. The Charmeleon tomboy beamed proudly at Graham. She knew he couldn't handle the temptation to use Agility. After all, he _was_ an overgrown Stantler.

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**Author's Note:** If you didn't get it, Stantlers are deer Pokemon. Girafarigs resemble Stantlers slightly (and in the story are related to them), so it was a fitting name for Sophia to tease Graham with. And Stantlers are speedy, so it relates to Agility too.

Please read Chapter 2 before saying the explanations made you hate the story!

Also, if you read this or any other chapter, please review! I love reviews, and I read every single one!


	2. Meeting with Madame Morpheus

**Author's Note:** I've now revised this chapter to fit with later chapters, as well as to improve the writing style. I'd recommend re-reading it; there's a bunch of new and different details to check out. I've also revised the first chapter, and am revising the third while I continue to work on the thirteenth. Enjoy!

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**Chapter 2: Meeting with Madame Morpheus**

Graham Hopkins wasn't just a friend of Sophia's; no, he was considered a member of the family. A human once, Graham had been whisked into the World of Pokemon by a magical Gameboy he found one day. It wasn't long before he ran into trouble. A Magneton began bullying him, and when he fought back the Magneton brought in its older sibling. The Magnezone was prepared to electrocute Graham to death, but at the last moment he was saved by Sophia, who had just happened to be taking a walk with her boyfriend and saw the whole commotion. Seeing as Graham had nowhere to go, Sophia brought him back to her house, and to his luck after hearing his story Dr. Flarison kindly allowed him stay for however long he wished. The Flarison household soon became Graham's homebase as Sophia and Dr. Flarison began teaching him about the world he now lived in.

The cities and towns and villages in the World of Pokemon were all slightly different than they were in the real world. The countries were slightly different too. In place of Japan were two different countries--Kanto and Johto--which he remembered from the Blue and Silver versions of the Pokemon games. Some continents were massively different, and a few of them were archipelagos with countries for every island. There were some continents he was unfamiliar with, such as one archipelago with the country of Sinnoh, and some that he knew by heart, such as South America. The United States of America had remained generally the same, though it still had some differences. Graham wasn't sure what village he now lived in, but he was certain it didn't exist in the USA of his world. Despite this, some major cities such as Chicago and New York still seemed to exist. Chicago even had mafias left over from the Prohibition, including a particularly dangerous one known as the Don Karasu Syndicate, headed by a feared Italian Honchkrow named Don Karasu.

The village Graham lived in was headed by a pompous and stately Hypno woman by the name of Madame Morpheus. She lived at the extensive Dreamy Estate, up at the top of Sleepwalker's Hill, with her Drowzee children. Madame Morpheus made for a wise and powerful governess of her county (in the World of Pokemon, counties were controlled by regional governors), making good use of all her Psychic powers to keep in check with the town's condition. An incredibly busy woman, she seldom left the estate's grounds; this meant it was always an honor to be in her presence.

As the village's Pokemon Professor, Dr. Flarison sometimes had to pay business visits to Madame Morpheus. Most of the time he made these trips alone, but occasionally he'd take his children with him to keep the governess' three children company. These business trips typically happened once or twice a month, and the time of the month arrived once again for Dr. Flarison to meet with the lovely Hypno. Madame Morpheus allowed him to bring Graham, Sophia, and Danny along; this would be a particularly special visit, as Graham had never met Madame Morpheus before.

"You'll like her," Sophia told him, once the two salamanders and the giraffe had seated themselves on the plushy grey seats in the back of Dr. Flarison's fire-red minivan. Danny sat in the middle because he was the youngest, and Graham and Sophia sat on each side of him. "She can be a bit pompous at times, but you get used to it once you get to know her."

"What about her kids?" Graham asked with deep interest. Psychic Pokemon, he had soon discovered after arriving, were a rarity in the town, so he seldom had anybody to relate to concerning his mental powers. Meeting three children of a powerful Psychic Pokemon therefore was an exciting concept. Graham hoped he would be able to learn a lot from them. "What are they like?" he pressed.

Danny give Graham a toothy smile, revealing his sharp, pointy teeth. Before Sophia could answer, Danny enthusiastically gave his own reply. "Oh, they're great!" he explained, clearly excited to see them again. "You'll love them!"

"Madame has three children, all Drowzees," Sophia explained in a much calmer tone than her younger brother as she opened her window. There was a cool autumn breeze outside that felt good to her warm body. The smell of dying leaves quickly filled the car, but it was a smell everybody liked. "One's almost a Hypno--he's 18. His name is Wink."

Graham blinked in surprise. "Wink?"

Sophia nodded quickly. "Yes, Wink. Strange name, I know. Then there's the middle child, Blink. She's 17, just a year under her brother. And the youngest is Nod, who's 11. Wink and Blink constantly argue, but otherwise they're very fun to be around. And Nod is hilarious, Danny loves him," she added, pointing at the Charmander with her thumb.

"Yeah, Nod's the best," Danny chimed in. "I don't know anybody with a better sense of humor!"

The car turned a curve and started up an incline. "Graham, I'd like you to take a look out the front window," Dr. Flarison instructed. Graham nodded his main head and leaned both of his heads forward to look through the window, his tail just capable of peeking over the dashboard. The two spotted a stately mansion in the distance against the grey clouds in the sky, as well as a red brick fence coming up on the road. The tops of the mansions' towers resembled the sort of hats witches or wizards would wear. As they got closer, Graham could begin to make out a black iron gate in the fence which closed off the estate. To the sides of the gate stood proud golden statues of what looked like real-world tapirs. "We're approaching the Dreamy Estate, Graham," Dr. Flarison explained, thinking it fit that Graham knew a little about where they were going. "That mansion up on the hill is the Sleepy Chateau, where Madame Morpheus lives."

"Are those tapirs?" Graham asked, nodding toward the statues.

"Tapirs?" Danny asked with curiosity, quickly reaching over Sophia to scan the scenery outside the window. His eyes searched the landscape but couldn't find anything out of the ordinary. "What's a tapir?" Danny asked, slightly frustrated that he didn't know what he was looking for.

"They're animals from my world," Graham explained, glad to know something that nobody else seemed to know. "They look kind of like Drowzees, but walk on four legs."

Dr. Flarison couldn't help but chuckle. "No, those aren't statues of tapirs, Graham. They are statues of Baku, a prehistoric Pokemon which all Drowzees are descended from."

"Oh, I see..." the Girafarig nodded. Baku, he recalled, was a mythological tapir from the Orient that devoured people's dreams. Nintendo had based both Drowzee and Hypno off of the legend of Baku. He decided not to bring this point up, though, as he reasoned it would only confuse the Flarison family. Instead, he just watched with a bit of amusement as Sophia shoved Danny off of her.

The car arrived at the black iron gate. Though it wasn't anything but pleasant to look at in the daytime, Graham could imagine the gate looking very spooky at night. It was like one of those classic black iron fences that haunted mansions had in horror films. The estate in general had a very Halloween feel to it, and Graham was glad the holiday of horrors had already passed. Near the gate was a kiosk standing guard by the side of the road. It was made of white wooden boards, with a purple witch hat roof like the mansion's towers. In front of the kiosk was a small sign with a large pair of Noctowl eyes painted on it that underneath the eyes read, "NO MISCHIEF; OUR EYES ARE WATCHING!" Inside the small building sat a sleepy-looking Arcanine in a blue security guard uniform. The fire-red canine was resting his head on his hand, leaning his elbow against the kiosk windowsill while lazily looking out the window in such a dreary manner that Graham really couldn't tell whether he was really paying attention to his guard duty. In the guard's other hand he held a strange sort of device that lacked a real world comparison. It was a device specially designed for Fire Pokemon that prevented them from accidentally lighting something on fire while sleeping. It came in many shapes and sizes, and Sophia always carried one with her in her pocket. Shaped almost like a collar, if she ever felt like she might fall asleep she put her device around her neck. The guard's device looked like a radio. The way he held it, he obviously was concerned he would fall asleep on the job. Dr. Flarison rolled down his window and stuck his long neck out. "Hello, Roger," the Arcanine greeted groggily, slowly waving a paw. "Here to see the mistress?"

"That I am, Bill," Dr. Flarison answered cheerfully with a wave back. The striking contrast between the furry red-orange paw and the scaly orange hand caught Graham's eye and reminded him of how strange the World of Pokemon truly was. A year ago he never even dreamed of watching a dragon wave "hello" to an oversized dog in a security outfit, and even if he had the dragon and dog certainly wouldn't have been _both_ capable of breathing fire.

"I'll open the gate for you, Roger," Bill yawned. "Just give me a minute." He set his device down and dragged himself around to a small brown table by the wall. The sleepy Arcanine slowly took a deep breath and used Ember on a few wooden sticks placed neatly underneath a coffeepot. The sticks glowed a warm red and steam shortly began rising from the pot. Bill wearily poured himself a cup of Joe and took a big, long sip. "I hope you'll excuse me," he apologized while wiping the coffee off his muzzle. "I had a long night last night. Jeremey was home with the flu last night, so I had to stand night watch for him. I'm so tired I can hardly stay awake. If the mistress catches me sleeping on the job though, I'll get a Nightmare for sure."

Dr. Flarison just waved his clawed hand and shrugged it off. "Eh, it's no problem. I know how it feels to be up late working. I'm sure you'll sleep well tonight."

"Thanks for the support, Roger. Here, I'll open the gate..." Bill set his mug down briefly and typed something onto a computer on the desk by the window. The iron gate creaked and shook for a moment before it quickly swung open. "You're free to continue," Bill smiled weakly. "See ya, Roger." Dr. Flarison waved good-bye, rolled up the car window, and drove on.

The mansion still being a ways away, Graham decided to look out the window and explore the estate with his eyes. Through the window he saw what he could only describe as Halloween a few days late. He saw beautiful gardens, which despite November's sinking temperatures still displayed several vivid purple flowers, exquisitely designed fountains, and expertly trimmed tropiaries. The tropiaries were all Halloween-themed, designed to look like Hypnos, Mismagiuses, Gengars, Kadabras, and Duskulls. He saw orange and brown forests that looked like abandoned parks, with paths and benches that in the spring or summer would have been shaded by dense groups of trees but in late autumn were dotted with fallen leaves. Wild Chimechos hung from some of the trees, chiming and tinkling in the wind. The car drove over a cobblestone bridge suspended over a crystal-clear moat, and in the water Graham spotted a few Goldeens and Magikarps, as well as a Lotad or two. Every now and then along the road he saw pewter statues of well-dressed Hypnos and other Psychic Pokemon. The eyes of the statues seemed to follow the car as it passed them. Each statue had neatly-cut violets around them. By one of the statues he saw a gardener that looked something like a thick palm tree. The gardener was an Exeggutor, a three-headed Pokemon resembling a coconut tree. "The Dreamy Estate is a haven for Psychic Pokemon," Sophia explained to Graham as they passed by the Exeggutor. "Madame prefers her faculty to have the same mental benefits as she does."

Finally the car stopped at the cobblestone driveway in front of the large, almost castle-like Sleepy Chateau. Dr. Flarison turned off the ignition and smiled as he looked back at the passengers, declaring it was time for everybody to get out. Sophia and Graham both opened their corresponding car doors and stepped out into the crisp autumn air, Sophia moving so that Danny could get out. The bumpy, uneven cobblestone felt weird under Graham's hooves; their bumpiness made it hard for him to keep him balance. He wobbled for a moment, trying to get himself stable. "Anything wrong?" Sophia asked, watching her Girafarig friend with pity.

"Not really, standing on cobblestone with hooves is just a-a new experience for me," Graham explained with a bit of embarrassment. Getting his balance with the help of his tail, Graham took a deep breath and glanced up at the chateau. "Wow," he remarked unusually enthusiastically. "I feel so...so _alive_ here! My head, it feels so...so much clearer!"

"The Titanic is sinking!" his tail agreed.

"That's strange, I don't feel anything," Sophia frowned.

"I'll bet your heads are feeling clearer because of the aura of this estate," Dr. Flarison diagnosed. "Here, let's put that theory to the test. Try shooting a Psybeam into the sky, would you please?" Graham's tail nodded and pointed his round snout towards the cloudy sky. He opened his dangerous mouth wide, and with not more than a blink of an eye a rainbow-colored beam of mental energy fired from his mouth into the heavens. All four of them gasped; the beam was much brighter and larger than was typical for him. Dr. Flarison cleared the smoke off of his glasses and remarked, "Just as I thought. This estate sharpens one's mind. It's only natural that your Psychic powers are enhanced here. Graham, I'm sure that by spending some time here you will learn a lot about yourself and about your abilities. Much more than a Fire Pokemon could teach you at any rate."

Business called however, so Dr. Flarison wasted little time in bringing his party to the double doors of the chateau. He rang the doorbell. A bell chimed throughout the manor to an ominous tune that Graham could only associate to a twisted rendition of the song of a Jigglypuff. Almost at once the door was opened. A Kirlia dressed in a black maid's uniform with a white apron greeted them. She panted a bit, as if she had just been interrupted in the middle of a difficult task, and her voice sounded tense and rushed. Her green hair covered one of her eyes, so she didn't see everybody until she turned her head. "Oh, Dr. Flarison," she exclaimed, noticing the tell-tale lab coat the dragon wore while involved with business. "Uh, glad to see that you've arrived! Please, all of you come in and out of the cold!" The Kirlia stepped out of the doorway and motioned for the visitors to enter while she brushed some dirt from her apron. "Madame, the professor is here to see you!" she called.

Her last sentence took Graham by surprise. His eyes grew wide and he stared at the Kirlia. The Kirlia had not spoken those words with her mouth; Graham had heard them in his mind. Similarly, he heard the answer in his mind. "Thank you, I'll be right there!" called a deep, womanly voice from somewhere above him. The Kirlia suddenly realized Graham was staring at her.

"What? Haven't you ever seen a woman before? Sheesh!" she huffed before twirling around and marching away into a different room, a look of disgust and anger on her face.

"What was that all about?" Sophia whispered as soon as the Kirlia was gone.

"Sophia, she...she talked without moving her mouth!" Graham stammered.

"Are you sure you're feeling alright?"

There was the tapping sound of high heels descending some stone steps, and out through a doorway appeared an elegant woman dressed in a stately silk purple gown covered in frills, fanning herself with a pale white fan from the Orient. The tell-tale yellow fur, thick, ghostly white collar, and the large, proboscis-like nose immediately gave her away: she was a Hypno, a mysterious human-like tapir Pokemon both famous and infamous for its specialty in Psychic attacks related to the subconscious. This particular Hypno, as was soon clear, was none other than the great Madame Morpheus. Her thin, pointy eyes gazed at the house guests with acute awareness, as if her pupils couldn't be fooled by anything. Waved her fan in a very pompous, upper-class manner, fanning ever so slowly so that only the perfect amount of wind cooled her face without disturbing it. A small, disc-like pendulum--the most well-known possession of a Hypno--hung around her neck like a necklace. She wore long white gloves over her hands that gave them the appearance of being the hands of a phantom. The way she walked resembled a spirit bouncing as it floated across the floor towards the guests. Madame Morpheus set her fan on a small table and used both of her hands to hold her dress as she curtsied. "A very good day to you, Doctor Roger Flarison," she greeted with dignity powerfully echoing from her voice. Her manner of speaking was slow and prominent, giving all those in the room the feeling that every word she said was carefully thought out so as to be as meaningful as possible. "And to you as well, Sophia and Daniel Flarison," she continued with a nod to Dr. Flarison's children. Her powerful eyes stopped at Graham. "Well now, it seems we have two extra guests," she remarked in slight surprise, for surely she knew Graham was coming but did not expect him to be a Girafarig. "You two are Graham Hopkins, I presume? It is a sincere pleasure to meet the both of you." With a smile she bowed courteously towards the two-headed giraffe.

"How did you know our name?" Graham gasped in mild surprise himself, though quickly in hindsight he decided the question was obvious--surely, Dr. Flarison had told her.

"Oh, my my my, please forgive me. I assumed a Psychic Pokemon such as yourself would know the answer to such a question."

"Please do pardon him," Dr. Flarison quickly explained, "he's not very in-touch with his Psychic side."

"Oh, I _see_... How truly _bizarre_..." Madame Morpheus nodded, trailing off in her usual slow manner. "Graham Hopkins, I knew your name because I read your _mind_. It is a necessity of mine to make sure I know all my guests' names ahead of time."

Graham jumped as he heard Madame Morpheus call for her children--_without_ moving her mouth. He heard more footsteps on a staircase, heavy thumps compared to Madame's soft taps, and three Drowzees quickly arrived at the entry hall. They were almost the spitting image of yellow-and-brown tapirs (though humanoid in a way similar to Sophia) standing on their hindlegs. Both their three-fingered hands and their four-toed feet were hoofed, and they had large proboscises for noses, resembling miniature elephant trunks. The eyes of all three children were far different from their mother's haunting pair of eyes. The Morpheus siblings' eyes were glazed, looking dreamy and distant, with sacks hanging underneath their eyelids as if they hadn't slept in days. The three were dressed more casually than their mother, though still in very expensive-looking clothes. The three lined up from shortest to tallest beside their mother. The tallest wore a white dress shirt with a carnation in its shirt pocket, and was wearing a pair of brown dress pants. The middle child wore a black silk dress that went from the tops of her yellow shoulders down to just below her chocolate brown knees. The shortest wore a white shirt similar to the tallest though without the flower, and had on a pair of black dress pants. All three Drowzees were barefoot, and their brown feet and yellow hooves clutched the stone floor much firmer than Graham's skinny cloven blue hooves. They stood with their backs straight, still and serious. Madame Morpheus walked past each of them while introducing them to Graham, again without moving her mouth. "The tallest is Wink Morpheus, the middle one is Blink Morpheus, and the shortest one is Nod Morpheus," she said. The three Drowzees bowed in unison. Graham caught in the corner of his eye a look of bewilderment on Sophia's face. He didn't share that look, but he certainly felt it in his mind. He really wished to know what was going on with the voices. "Oh, don't you know?" Madame Morpheus asked with a raised eyebrow without moving her mouth. "I'm speaking with my mind. Only Psychic Pokemon can hear it. I only am required to introduce my sons and daughter to you, so I see no reason to speak with my mouth. You truly are a strange one indeed." The Drowzees chuckled quietly.

"Mother, who are these gentlemen?" Wink, the first to get his act together, mentally asked his mother. Graham's brain was whirling; it was as if all the Psychic Pokemon were linked in a mental channel, something he had been taught in school was impossible. It was like a second sense of hearing completely. Wink's mental "voice" was similar in tone to his mother's, though much more masculine. It was deep and sounded very sophisticated, like he knew what he was doing at all times.

"These two are Graham Hopkins, a friend of the Flarisons. He will be joining us today," she mentally answered.

"Pleased to meet you Graham," Blink mentally greeted with a smile, her trunk-like proboscis turning up in a sort of gesture Graham assumed was a happy one. Blink's voice was very feminine and pretty, especially compared to the rumbling voice of Sophia.

Graham felt it was rude not to answer, so he decided to give this "mental talking" a shot. He tried talking without moving his mouth or sending the air up through his vocal chords. He did everything else he was supposed to do while talking, just none of the physical parts. Weakly, he managed to mentally answer, "P-Pleased to meet you..." Never had he attempted talking with his mind before, not even to his tail. It was a different sort of feeling than the plain, ordinary sort of conversation. He could hear these mental messages with his ears, just as he could with normal conversation; however, the mental words felt more contained and focused than the auditory words.

"Oh, a shy one!" Blink giggled. Her words were mental but the giggle was completely physical, which made the conversation even weirder.

"U-Uh, no, not really, I just haven't really ever spoken with...well, my brain alone," Graham mentally admitted.

"Really?" Nod mentally squeaked in astonishment. His voice was very open and happy, though somewhat high.

"Hey, what about us?" Danny grumpily interrupted. "Quit talking with your minds and let us in on the conversation!"

"Oh, _that's_ what they're doing," Sophia quietly noted to herself. "I should have remembered..."

Dr. Flarison cleared his voice. "Here, how about the six of you go out to the grounds. Madame Morpheus and I have business to do."

* * *

The four older children--that is, Wink, Blink, Sophia, and Graham--sat atop a white stone wall-like railing that ran along the side of a sloping, winding path around the backside of the chateau leading down into the forest. A chilly breeze blew gently across their faces, picking up leaves sitting quietly on the path and blowing them away in a swirling manner. In the distance they could hear the jingling of Chimecho as they hung from trees, struggling in the wind to keep a good grip. But no matter how hard the wind blew, the Chimecho always had a tight hold on their branches and never feared losing them. At the foot of the path, an Exeggutor lumbered by, on its way to sprinkle some water on another garden. All three of its heads whistled a merry tune, enjoying the breeze despite the cold. The watering can it held bounced as it walked, water sometimes jumping out of the can and onto the path. Like the forest around it, the Exeggutor's palm fronds had turned a rusty color. It seemed that not even the tropical Exeggutor could escape the autumn season.

Each of the four adolescents sat a different way on the fence, each style in a way paralleling their personalities. Graham sat with his legs crossed, doing his best to keep balance on the railing with his two heads. He wobbled slightly, but whenever the wobbling became major he stuck out his long neck or pulled it back to counterbalance. Sophia wasn't actually sitting but was instead standing, walking back and forth along the railing while sticking her arms out and stretching her long tail behind her to keep her balance. Not content with just sitting around, she had decided to give her active mind something to do. Wink sat with one four-toed foot on the fence, the other dangling to its side. He rested an arm on the higher leg, and he casually held in his opposite hand a strawberry smoothie. He was relaxed and confident about his balance, knowing that he'd be alright if he fell. Blink sat with only her bossom on the fence, dangling both of her legs off the edge and resting her hands in her lap. She looked out at the forest with a calm smile, delicate like a flower but sturdy like a tree.

"Say, have you guys heard about the recent disappearance?" Blink asked casually, having finally found an interesting topic of conversation for them to discuss. When speaking aloud, Blink's voice sounded a bit like she was plugging her nose, probably because of the shape of her proboscis. It bothered Graham that as expressive as her voice was, her eyes were just as vacant as ever. They only seemed half awake, and hardly focused on anything at all. This was the same for the other two Morpheus siblings, though Wink's were the most alert; this was presumably because he was nearing evolution into a Hypno.

"You mean about the Smoochum girl?" Sophia asked, briefly stopping to look back around at Blink. "Only bits and pieces. Dad's mentioned it once. I wouldn't mind hearing more about it." Graham's heads nodded in agreement. Graham was always interested in the news.

Wink took a sip from his smoothie and began, "Well, there's this castle up in--"

"Wink! _I_ wanted to tell them about it!" Blink immediately interrupted. Her proboscis flared up aggressively, though the only change in her insomniac eyes was the frowning of her eyebrows. Wink fiercely retaliated with a stare, eyes actually focused on his sister. Sophia could only guess what then commenced, but as Graham fidgeted with his jacket he could hear them mentally squabbling. He could never have told from their vacant faces, but their mental argument was loud and intense, and ended with Blink giving up the explanation to Wink in return for a smoothie later. As she crossed her arms and pouted, Wink cleared his throat and began the story of the kidnapping. Sophia stopped fooling around and seated herself so as not to be rude. "You see," Wink continued, "there's this castle up in the Rocky Mountains. It's looks almost like it's from a fairy tale, but the cool thing about it is that it is made completely of ice. The county governess--a Jynx--owns the castle, and it seems that her young 6-year old daughter has gone missing. For some reason or another, her bodyguard was distracted and in the confusion the girl vanished. The state authorities have been looking for her for a week now, and still haven't found a single trace of her. It's believed due to the lack of evidence that a Ghost Pokemon must have taken her."

"Well _that's _terrible," Graham sighed, shaking his main head in pity. "I do hope they find her."

"Well that's about all I know of the matter. Naturally, we learned most of this from Mother, and she has a way of only telling half of a story. Both the governess and her daughter are prominent in the country's government, so our country is in an uproar about it. There are rumors she'll be calling the army soon."

"Would she really go that far?" Sophia remarked in disbelief. Wink and Blink looked at each other for a moment, then looked back at Graham and Sophia and nodded worriedly.

* * *

"Doctor Roger Flarison," Madame Morpheus announced, importance and concern in her voice. She stood with her back turned to Dr. Flarison, looking out the window of the sitting room as Dr. Flarison sat down on a velvet couch and spread his papers on the coffee table, as he did on every visit. Dr. Flarison looked up with a worried look on his face, taken by surprise by the governess' tone of voice. As soon as he looked up, Madame Morpheus spun around and with her spectral eyes pointing at him like a laser she declared, "Doctor Roger Flarison, I did not summon you to my estate to discuss the typical business."

"Oh?" Dr. Flarison replied with interest. He removed his glasses and rubbed the smoke off of them. "In that case, what _did_ you bring me here to discuss, madam?"

"It involves the disappearance of the princess of the Dancer's Castle, I'm afraid."

"Are you referring to the Smoochum that's recently gone missing?"

"The same." Madame Morpheus slowly walked toward Dr. Flarison and seated herself in a regal purple armchair across from the Charizard. "Doctor Roger Flarison, the governess of the castle and I are good friends. She contacted me a few days ago in the vain hope that my psychic powers could locate the girl."

"Well, can they?" Dr. Flarison had asked the question to be polite, but he was well aware as a Pokemon Professor that Hypnos lacked the clairvoyant powers many Psychic Pokemon boasted. Hypnos specialized in the subconscious, not in seeing distant images or the past and future like Pokemon such as Xatu could.

"No, they cannot." Madame Morpheus paused for a moment and seemed to drift into thought. "No, and it seems that whatever has kidnapped this girl has blocked off the powers of many clairvoyants as well. I and many other Psychic Pokemon have been unable to locate the girl. Not even a single footstep."

"Well, that could be a problem." Dr. Flarison leaned back on the couch, stretching his blue-and-orange wings to avoid squishing them. He looked Madame Morpheus straight in the eyes and, resisting her eyes' hypnotic powers as best he could, he asked, "What does this have to do with me, though?" His curiosity had risen.

"Doctor Roger Flarison, I require your assistance. You are the county's Pokemon Professor. You should know how to find her better than anybody else in the region. Lady Olga Valkyrie is not the kind of person you say 'no' to, believe me. Not even if you are her friend." Madame Morpheus leaned forward and set her hauntingly gloved hands on the table. "If I myself cannot find her daughter, I am obligated to send some sort of help in compensation. Do you have any knowledge of where or how one could locate the princess?"

"Well," Dr. Flarison thought aloud as he scratched his chin with his sharp claws, "has the mistress tried using some sort of bloodhound? A Growlithe or a Houndoom or... Why, even a Swinub?"

"They have attempted using Growlithes, but their success has been very limited. I don't know if you've heard, but they believe a Ghost Pokemon may have abducted the girl. Not a hint of a scent was left, nor any other physical evidence to identify a culprit. It is also believed..." Madame Morpheus sat up straight and looked Dr. Flarison in the eye even fiercer than normal. Dr. Flarison felt a yawn coming; the eyes of a Hypno were notorious for their ability to induce sleep, and with such a fierce stare he had to double his efforts not to allow her stare to make him fall asleep. "This is classified information, Doctor Roger Flarison; I'm not exactly sure I can tell you..."

Dr. Flarison yawned. With a hint of sleepiness in his voice, he replied, "You can trust me, madam. After all, you have for years."

"That is very correct... Very well, Doctor Roger Flarison, I will confide this information with you--if you can keep awake, that is," she added with a frown, noticing Dr. Flarison beginning to nod. "Do I bore you, Doctor?"

"Not at all, Madam," the Charizard said wearily. "But I must implore you, Madame, you are releasing sleep waves... I can't resist them much longer..." He was beginning to drift off.

"Oh! My apologies, Doctor, I must have accidentally switched them on! Here, let me fix this..." Madame Morpheus got up and hurried around the table to Dr. Flarison. She could feel him losing his grasp of reality, as well as the almost irresistibly delicious aroma of sleep waves flowing into her nostrils. Desperately doing her best to hide the fact that Dr. Flarison's sleep made her mouth ravenously drool, the Hypno sat herself beside him on the couch. Looking deeply into his rapidly closing eyes and clutching her pendulum necklace, she quietly commanded, "By the power of Baku, I commandeth thou Charizard to return to the realm of the conscious! Forsake the vile clutches of the subconscious, and allow the hypnopompus to drag you back to reality! Awake!" Releasing her necklace, Madame Morpheus clapped her hands together. "Awake!" Though it wasn't a particularly loud clap, its sound waves resonated within Dr. Flarison's head like a gong crashing, beckoning him to wake up. At first slowly, then almost immediately, Dr. Flarison went from struggling to stay awake to being alert and feeling fully rested.

"Thank you, Madame," he smiled, bowing his long neck in gratitude.

"Please forgive me, Doctor Roger Flarison. I am sorry for the interruption and for hypnotizing you. Do you feel well again? Can I continue?" Dr. Flarison nodded. Madame Morpheus stood up and returned to her armchair, taking advantage of the brief moment to secretly wipe the drool off the sides of her lips. She could not help it; the only thing Hypnos ate, the one thing that could reduce them to hungry, slobbering animals with food solely on their mind, was the dream waves given off by sleeping Pokemon. It was such an irresistible instinct to feed off of a Pokemon's dreams that a Hypno's mouth would water just by seeing a Pokemon fall asleep. This was incredibly embarrassing to someone with as high a status as Madame Morpheus, and she hoped Dr. Flarison hadn't noticed her salivating. Face clean, Madame Morpheus did her best to forget how close she had been to a savory meal and focus on the more imporant matter at hand. "Well, anyway, Doctor Roger Flarison... It is also thought by some of the authorities that if the culprit wasn't a Ghost Pokemon, it was most certainly a Kadabra or Alakazam."

"What makes them so certain of that?" Dr. Flarison asked, eyes full of intrigue, a characteristic that his daughter had readily inherited.

"Well, with a lack of physical evidence that somebody else was there... If it wasn't a ghost, then the culprit must have used Teleport. And we all know that there are very few instances where something outside the Abra line knows Teleport."

"Yes, very true... Though of course both the Ralts and the Natu lines can teach themselves how to teleport."

"As I said, though, those are very few instances. Neither the Ralts or especially the Natu lines have a significant population in Lady Olga Valkyrie's state. There's been only one Xatu in the state in months, actually."

"Then shouldn't that one Xatu be a prime suspect?"

"The governess refuses to take the idea of a Teleport Kidnapping as a legitimate possibility. Some suspect it is because she wishes to protect her cousin, the Count Yamazaki, from suspicion."

Dr. Flarison rubbed the smoke off his glasses and smiled suddenly. "This is all getting very interesting," he grinned. "Madam, I'll be glad to help Lady Valkyrie in your place. What do you need me to do?"

"Oh Doctor Roger Flarison, I'm so very pleased!" Madame Morpheus happily exclaimed with a clap of her hands. "And here I was worried I'd have to use Hypnosis on you!" she added with a bit of humor, before stopping suddenly and apologizing for the joke, remembering what had just happened. She then continued, spirits raised again, "Doctor Roger Flarison, I need you to go to the Rocky Mountains and investigate the Dancer's Castle. See if you can use your superior knowledge of Pokemon to identify some sort of clue; they need one. Believe me, my friend does not like failure. Oh! Forgive me, I hope I'm not scaring you out of the job."

"Don't worry, you're not. I'm not exactly sure I can guarantee results, but I'll do my best all the same."

"It's official, then," Madame Morpheus announced, stretching her hand out to shake. "I hereby declare you my Official Representative in the investigation."

Dr. Flarison shook her hand, sharp teeth glistening in a smile and tail flame burning bright. "I'm truly honored, Madame Morpheus. I'll head over there as soon as possible!"

"That's very good to know, Doctor Roger Flarison. Just don't forget to bring winter coats; it's much much colder up in the mountains than it is here."

"I'll be sure to let the kids know." Dr. Flarison stood up and hastily gathered his papers. He and Madame Morpheus left the sitting room and went out to the back of the chateau. "Sophia, Daniel, Graham!" he roared. In minutes the three members of his household stood in front of him. The good doctor smiled, excitement boiling in his blood, and announced, "Boys, Sophia, we're going on a little vacation!"

"Alright!" Danny cheered, leaping into the air. "I get to miss my math test!"

"Oh no you don't," Dr. Flarison laughed wickedly. "All three of you are going to make sure you make up everything you miss from school while we're gone!"

"Aw man!" the three children whined.


	3. Dancer's Castle

**A Note from the Author:** I've gone back and revised Chapter 3. Happy Easter, everybody! There was a lot to fix and improve in this chapter; many parts skipped ahead or weren't consistent with later descriptions. Plus, there wasn't a lot of suspense!

* * *

**Chapter 3: Dancer's Castle**

A car slowly drove up a winding road against an icy cliff on the side of a snowy mountain. It drew closer and closer to a tall Medieval castle gleaming and glittering in the sun. The castle was not made of stone but was sculpted out of unmeltable ice said to enhance the abilities of Ice Pokemon. The castle loomed above a small village atop the mountain's summit. It's ice cold shadow that it cast on the village seemed full of gloom and despair. The icicles that hung from the roof were like frozen tears, while at the same time resembling the chilling fangs of a demonic Glalie. On one of its towers a window's curtains where open, though the window itself stayed tightly shut. Through the window a figure's eyes ominously followed the car as it grew ever closer. The figure was a woman, and a large one at that. Her eyes watchfully hovered over the approaching car like a hawk's when it has spotted its prey. Her black face was grim and unsmiling. To her the car meant trouble, trouble that she'd have to deal with whether she liked it or not. She could not use her Psychic powers to send the car away, like she had done to anything she ever detested before. For the second time in her life, she was in a vulnerable position where it was impossible to make her problems vanish with the blink of her eye. She glared at the car, brooding over what events may soon occur. The figure clutched the window curtain with a blue gloved hand, visibly nervous and uneasy at the car's presence. In her mind she pleaded to the great god Arceus that her situation would not worsen with the visit of this so-called "Pokemon Professor."

* * *

Graham quivered like a phone on vibrate as he and Sophia gazed up at the immense gates of a citadel icier than the Arctic Circle in the winter. Weavile gargoyles made of sheer ice loomed above the gate's purple wood, protecting the castle with keen eyes. In the back of his mind, Graham pondered why he had agreed to this treacherous vacation. Though he had enjoyed the scenery, the trip up into the mountains had lasted hours, the last of which clouded the mountain panorama with a dismal fall of snow so thick that Dr. Flarison had to use Ember to be able to see the road ahead of him. The good doctor, anticipating the second thoughts Graham now harbored, had booked the four of them rooms in a fine hotel in the village directly beneath the castle, where Danny still remained at that very minute. Graham had wanted to stay in his warm bed himself, but somehow Sophia had talked him out of it. She assertively insisted that she and Graham explore the castle while Dr. Flarison did his investigations, and so there the two children were, standing before the foreboding castle of ice. Neither of them budged. It wasn't because of the gate; the gate naturally was open for the investigation. It wasn't because of the weather; it was actually snowing quite heavily. It was because the vast building before them, with its glaring statues and tall towers, its opaque ice and the wind's echoes in its corridors, seemed to them the coldest place on Earth. After a few minutes of standing speechlessly in front of the castle, one of them finally decided to take the initiative. "Well," Sophia weakly mumbled, her voice cracking as she spoke, "shall we enter?" Graham replied with a nod from his main head and a whimper from his tail. Slowly, stiffly, not knowing what adventures may stealthily await them as soon as they put a hoof or a claw on the castle floor, Graham and Sophia entered the gloomy Dancer's Castle without a single other word.

The inside of the castle was a cold, unfriendly place. When Sophia had forced Graham out of the hotel with threats of a Flamethrower, she had expected an intriguing display of a building from America's past. The inside of the castle certainly had interesting things of merit, but the emptiness and loneliness of the massive halls, with ceilings two stories above the floor, quieted her more out of intimidation than respect. As she and Graham wandered down the blue corridors, devoid of life, both of them silently observed fearsome ice sculptures and mysterious portraits dotting the walls. They had a bit of background knowledge of where they were, thanks to Dr. Flarison deciding an interesting conversation in the car would be a lecture about the castle's history. The Dancer's Castle was a citadel at the summit of Mt. Monroe, a snowy member of the Rocky Mountains in the Northwest part of the USA. 90% of the castle was made of ice, melded together by the mountain-dwelling Snorunts long ago to protect themselves from the freezing chill of the winter. At some point in the 1800's, the castle was acquired by a triad of Jynx sisters from Russia, and over the passage of time the castle would come to be the center of government for the county it resided in. It housed the governess and her family, much like Madame Morpheus' estate back where Sophia lived.

It wasn't long, however, before Sophia was able to overcome her intimidation. She began pointing out to Graham the many paintings of Mr. Mimes and Jynxes, several of them by famous Russian painters. She was especially excited when they came across a statue of a formidable creature resembling a certain mountain cryptid crossed with a pine tree. "Have you ever heard of these things?" she beamed, happy to show off her knowledge. "They're called Abomasnow. Legend has it that they live in the Himalayas, watching over the mountains' wildlife. People once believed they didn't exist, but we now know they are indeed a part of the Sinnoh Wildlife."

"They sound and look like yetis from my world," Graham nodded. "Except we still don't know whether yetis exist or not."

"Well I'll bet they do. People just haven't found them yet."

"Even the name is similar. Yetis in my world are sometimes called 'Abominable Snow Men.'"

"That's pretty uncanny, if you ask me," Sophia frowned. "Maybe your yetis are just Abomasnow that escaped into your world."

"Maybe..." Graham trailed off. He peered up at the Abomasnow statue and shivered. The statue had a slightly menacing look to it, as if the Abomasnow was standing there waiting for a chance to strike, while at the same time a somewhat lonely appearance, as if it truly were the only Abomasnow in existence. Most of the Dancer's Castle mirrored this mood: slightly menacing, yet somewhat lonely. Graham didn't know whether or not to be frightened.

The two teenagers, despite feeling calmer than they had upon entering, spent little time in one place and were happy to continue moving. Eventually they came across a big pair of doors decorated with an engraving of a Dewgong swimming underneath the Arctic Ocean. "This looks interesting. I wonder what's in here?" Sophia thought aloud. "Come on, Graham, let's see what's inside!"

Graham shifted uncomfortably, and his tail glanced around to see if anybody had somehow come into existence in the empty palace. "Sophia," Graham mumbled worriedly, "I don't know if we're allowed to do that... That looks like an important room. We might get in trouble."

Sophia waved his concern off. "Nah, they'll let us in. My father is an Official Inquiry, so we should have privileges. Come on." Before Graham could object again, Sophia set her scaly hands on the wooden door and pushed as hard as she could. The door didn't want to budge at first, but after constant pressure it slowly creaked open. The room behind it hid in darkness. Neither of the two could see a thing inside, and even Graham began to grow curious as to what could be inside. Both of them tiptoed (well, Graham walked like that normally) into the dark chamber. Sophia's burning tail cast an orange light into the room, but it wasn't enough to illuminate anything more than the space around them.

"Hey, Sophia," the Girafarig asked the Charmeleon quietly, his voice almost a whisper, "do you think you could use Flash in here?"

"Sure thing!" Sophia whispered back with a smile. She grabbed her tail with her left hand and swung its tip around in circles like a grappling hook, its flame's light shining brighter with each spin. It wasn't longer than five seconds before the room was bright enough to look around in. Sophia let go of her tail, stroking it briefly to soothe the joints of her tail's bones after revolving so much. The two friends were soon disappointed to find nothing was present. The room was completely empty.

* * *

The pair were soon to discover that night that the castle did indeed house some form of life. Hoping to give them something to do in the castle other than wander, Dr. Flarison arranged for them to join the investigation team for dinner with the members of the castle. At the end of a long, glass-like table of ice stood a middle-aged Jynx, watching over the other people present in the room with a glare that could have frozen a bullet in its tracks. Her long blond hair almost touched the floor. The Jynx's black skin, the treacherous cause of so much controversy in Graham's world, was visible only on her head; the rest of her body was covered with an outfit similar to opera singers in a Viking play. Norwegian armor covered the woman's chest, a red silk skirt flowing like a river of blood from underneath. Her arms were covered in hard, plate-like sleeves of white, and her hands were hidden in blue gloves. She was a large, imposing woman, whose grumpy eyes seemed to constantly search for something to criticize, and whose size-able crimson lips appeared worn from barking orders. The other people in the room appeared to be members of the investigation; various Pokemon of all sorts of species were giving their blue police coats or white lab coats to an eerie Froslass floating by the door. Some of them were engaged in small talk, but at some point or another each one of them glanced at the Jynx with a worried look on their face. A Rhydon near the other end of the table even seemed to shiver. Sophia looked at her father questioningly. "Dad, is that woman..."

"Yes," Dr. Flarison whispered back with a nod. "She is the mistress of the castle and governess of the county, Lady Valkyrie. Be sure to speak with utmost respect whenever you address her; she doesn't tolerate disrespect."

"I'll be sure."

Everybody stood by their chairs, waiting patiently and--for some--timidly while the other guests flooded into the room. Sophia kept an eye on Lady Valkyrie, her formidable figure looming before the purple evening sky through the only window in the elongated room. As the number of arriving people approached zero, the guests gradually built their anticipation, waiting for the corpulent woman by the window to declare the feast. As soon as the last person--an Arbok--entered and took off his coat, Lady Valkyrie rose her gloved hands high into the air, and immediately the crowd silenced itself. For a brief moment, Graham and Sophia could feel the weight of empty silence that had lingered around them while they explored the castle. It only lasted a moment though, before a loud, bellicose voice boomed, "All persons in the dining room, you may _sit_!" Lady Valkyrie's command rung in the Charmeleon's ears as it echoed off the ice walls, almost repeating itself so that all would know her instruction. Sophia and the others didn't have the chance to move; at least, to willingly move. Lady Valkyrie swung her hands down and everybody found themselves seating themselves around the table without a single bit of control over themselves. Just like Graham and the Morpheus family, Jynx were Psychic Pokemon. Native to Scandinavia and the old Soviet Union, they were female icy beings generally infamous for their bewitching powers of seduction. Lady Valkyrie didn't seem to be all that interested in seduction, Graham thought, but he decided he'd keep an eye out for it. Early in US history, Jynx taken prisoner in European wars were enslaved and shipped to the Southeastern part of the country, but there were now laws that abolished the vile treatment they received. In the east, the descendants of the once-enslaved feral population (feral, lustful Jynx were just as humanoid as the "humanoid" ones) were now popular in stripper clubs and as prostitutes, but the Russian Jynx in Alaska, Canada, and the Northwest were more sophisticated and proper. To Graham, it seemed they were an odd cross between the enslaved Africans and the Pre-Soviet Russians of his world.

He didn't have much time to ponder these associations, however, because the governess' loud calls echoed through the room once again. "Bring in the _supper_!" Lady Valkyrie roared, fists pounding on the hard, though very empty, table. "I will not wait a single minute more! I have guests! I will have my supper NOW!" Beyond the volume of her voice, Lady Valkyrie had a very punctual and sharp tone to her words. Her accent seemed a bit dry at times, but it was almost European at other times. Though she was descended from the Russian Jynx triad, she had more of an English flair to her speech.

Almost at once, beautiful women flew out of a door on the side of the dining room, carrying platters covered in mouth-watering food. The girls did not touch the ground, but instead hovered like apparitions above it. Dressed in kaminos as white as snow, held together by orange sashes, they were Froslass, phantom maidens that evolved from female Snorunts. As if they were the spirits of the old residents of the castle themselves, they flooded through the walls, balancing savory dishes on their delicate hands. The food they toted made the mouths of the entirety of the guests water. There was three whole plates covered in Roasted Combusken, some salad bowls, a few plates with cake, and a single large platter home to a large roast Grumpig. The platters were all set in the middle while empty plates and silverware were distributed to the guests, with the exception of one of the Combusken platters, which was given directly to Lady Valkyrie. "Ah, _wonderful_!" the lady cried with glee, clasping her hands together. "My favorite! Roast Combusken!" With one great swipe she grabbed a leg, ripped it off, and voraciously began to gnaw the meat off of it. "Guests!" she declared with her mouth full. "You may eat!"

The investigation team wasted little time in dishing themselves anything that looked tasty to them. As the meals were passed around, more Froslass appeared holding pitchers of water. "Some water for you, sir?" one asked, floating above Graham's still-empty plate.

"Oh, um, yes," the Girafarig gulped. Ghost Pokemon always reminded him of how impossible things in this world were compared to his.

"Just tell me when," the Froslass smiled, her enchanting face somewhat distorted in the menacing helmet of ice she wore.

"When." Graham was so distant, his glass was only half full when he gave the signal. By the time he realized his mistake, the Froslass had already left.

Graham only ate the salad and cake. It was one of the displeasures of being a Pokemon; before coming to this strange world, he had taken the delicious taste of a steak or hamburger for granted. He had no warning to tell him he'd one day be unable to take a single bite of meat without throwing up. In this way, being a Girafarig was a curse; he, like giraffes in his world, was strictly an herbivore. The alluring aroma of the roasted Combusken, which would have once made his mouth water ceaselessly, now smelled no better than decaying flesh. No matter how good the Grumpig looked, whenever he glanced at it he saw a giant dead pig that would only give him indigestion. He was jealous his tail was an omnivore. Lady Valkyrie, on the other hand, not to mention the Flarisons, wolfed the Combusken down like no tomorrow. "Aw man, Graham, this is the best Combusken I've ever had!" Sophia squealed between mouthfuls.

As they dessert came and left, Sophia braved to strike up a question with the governess. "Lady Valkyrie," she requested with interest, "Graham and I were exploring your castle when we found a fancy door with a Dewgong on it. But, if you'll pardon our curiosity, when we looked inside the room it was empty! What was that room's purpose?"

Lady Valkyrie suddenly began cachinnating, her laughter as loud as her speech. "Ho ho, so you want to know what was in that room, do you?" she cackled. The laughter was almost a bit frightening. "Well, why don't I show you?" Lady Valkyrie took a deep breath and louder than an Exploud she yelled, "GOLIATH, COME FORTH!" She turned back to Sophia and with a smile calmly explained, "Goliath is a special possession of mine. I found it back in Russia and simply had to have it. There's nothing like it, it's the only one of its kind."

"Oh really? What _is_ it, my lady?" Dr. Flarison asked. He was getting excited to see this possession himself.

"Oh, you'll see soon enough. It should be coming in any moment." A glint passed through her eyes, but Graham couldn't tell what it meant. His mind soon became distracted by a faint thumping sound. It was followed by a sort of scratching noise, a slightly robotic clinking, and then another thump. This continued over and over, growing louder and louder, until Graham had the distinct feeling that whatever was making the noise was coming closer to the dining room door. Both in fear and curiosity, his eyes grew wide.

Suddenly the doors thrust open, blowing napkins into the air and causing many a guest to jump out of their seat while Lady Valkyrie just sat, a calm smile on her face amidst the chaos of the room. In the doorway towered a massive prism of ice. It appeared at first to be a statue made of giant ice crystals, with an array of glowing dots where a face would have been, but it didn't take long for the people in the room to recognize what they were seeing. The monstrous figure stood only on two little points, tips of crystals, yet seemed to keep balance perfectly. It dragged one foot forward and into the air. The little point scratched against the icy floor as it rose and made a high-pitched noise, while the figure made a robotic clink or beep; Graham couldn't really tell which. The foot then fell to the floor and, despite the small size of the point, it made a loud thumping sound, as if great weight were on it. Then came the next foot, and so on, until it lumbered all the way to Lady Valkyrie.

"No way, it can't be..." Dr. Flarison stuttered.

"It is," Lady Valkyrie smirked with satisfaction, her voice cool and collected. Her guests' mouths hung open, just the reaction she wanted. "This is my loyal servant Goliath, the world's only Regice, one of the three golems of Hebrew legend. You won't believe my surprise when I found it in Russia, so far away from Hoenn. Don't get any ideas, Professor; I'm sure the other two golems aren't anywhere near my homeland," she added with a chuckle.

"Is this the one who..." Dr. Flarison tried to make out, his voice dry and scratchy.

"Yes, it is," Lady Valkyrie answered, her smirk turning quickly into a frown. "Goliath was my daughter's bodyguard. And as one he failed. If he wasn't the only one of his kind I would have destroyed him on the spot. But I'll find some new use for him." She looked up at Goliath with a disappointed face.

Goliath shook as it responded. Though it had no mouth, it spoke with slow, mechanical, low words. "I... I AM... S-SOR-R-Y-Y... MISTRESS-S..." Regice even sounded like a robot, but then again that's what the legends said too.

"Sorry isn't good enough," Lady Valkyrie angrily snapped, the volume of her voice increasing with every word. "Does apologizing bring back my daughter? No! You're a failure as a bodyguard, Goliath. You're a failure at everything you set your frozen little mind to. You're lucky there aren't more of you, or you'd be dead by now! Why are you even in my castle!? Shouldn't you be searching for my daughter!? By Arceus, what is _WRONG_ with you!?" Lady Valkyrie slammed a fist onto the table, the sound echoing throughout the chamber. Graham and Sophia watched in disturbed horror as the governess' hair flew wildly in every direction, her brain just bursting to unleash a powerful Psychic attack.

Goliath slightly tilted his body down and then back up, as if to hang his head in shame and bring it back up in defeat. "I... DI-DENT... M-MEAN... TO... MISTRESS-S..." it pleaded. Graham couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for it.

Lady Valkyrie flung her arms into the air. "SHUT UP!" she furiously screamed, her lips ready to deal yet another verbal beating that day. "Get out of my sight! _NOW_!" Goliath bowed again and spun around. Just as slowly as it came in, it left. But the mistress wasn't done yet. She glared ferociously at the table guests, who seemed to shrink in their chairs as her eyes met with their's. "That goes for _ALL_ of you!!!" she roared, drops of spit launching from her mouth. "Why aren't you all searching for my little girl!? Get _OUT_!!!!" Again she forcefully pounded her fists on the table, ice erupting from the impact; nobody wanted to know whether this Ice Punch was accidental or a threat. They didn't need to know, though, for just as before, the Jynx unleashed her Psychic magic and launched everybody out of the room, coats and all, slamming the dining room doors behind them.

Dr. Flarison pushed himself up from the hard floor and gently rubbed his hurting head. Everybody lay on the floor, partially in pain and partially in fear. "Well, you two," the professor sighed with annoyance to Graham and Sophia, "I suppose we've done all we can for today. Let's head back to the hotel. I could use a bit of relaxation."

* * *

Back in their warm, cozy hotel suite, the children set about getting ready for bed. Danny busily dry cleaned himself before bed (due to the importance of their tail being lit, Charmanders and their relatives dry cleaned instead of washing up via water), an act Graham found both puzzling and somewhat humorous. As the Girafarig put on his pajamas he and his tail mused over imagining Danny in a dry cleaning laundry machine. Due to the extreme importance of keeping their tail lit, the Charmander, Magmar, and Chimchar lines all dry cleaned themselves instead of washing up via water. Hotels provided special "Fire-Friendly" hotel rooms for such Pokemon, which provided both regular and "dry" showers as well as other precautions made to prevent the room being set on fire.

Sophia, already in her pajamas, sat nearby at the table, checking her e-mail messages on her laptop. Every now and then she took a sip of her hot chocolate, giggled, and hurriedly typed a reply to whatever she had just read. At the same time, she was busy instant messaging her Marshtomp buddy Andrew, with Graham and his tail adding some remarks to the conversation here and there.

The one person missing from the suite was Dr. Flarison, who was out on a walk. He didn't say exactly where he was going, but he said he'd be back before midnight.

"So how has Arthur been coping with his first few days without you?" Graham asked his Charmeleon friend playfully. The Girafarig settled himself down on his bed, not laying down but sitting at the edge of it near Sophia's chair. The Arthur he had referred to was not Arthur the Cyndaquil, a popular character in children's literature (homologous to Arthur the Aardvark in his world). Graham was referring to Sophia's current boyfriend, a handsome Dragonair named Arthur Pendragon. Because there were many species of Pokemon living together, it was a fortunate fact that Pokemon were capable of mating with other species, as long as they both shared the same "Egg Type." Sophia was, for example, a "Dragon" egg type, just like Arthur.

"Belgian waffles come from Belgium, but French fries don't come from France? What the heck!?" added Graham's tail, who was busy reading a book of random facts. Normally his tail had no logic to what it said and could only be somewhat understood by his main head, but it could read very well and was able to comprehend and relay what it read. The catch was that its words still didn't mean what they said, and though it sounded like he was gasping in surprise at what he just read, in actuality he meant something more like, "Yes, Sophia, how has Arthur been?"

Sophia rolled her eyes at Graham's Tail's apparent discovery, incapable of comprehending the blabbering sphere's gibberish. But all the same, she chuckled and happily answered her Girafarig friend in mock drama. "Oh, he just can't take it. Tonight he cried and made it rain (Dragonairs were capable of altering the weather), and he doesn't wish for anybody to call upon him. Until I return he'll be a moral wreck, and will only return to normal if I use Attract on him." Pausing to make a break between fact and fiction, she then added more calmly, "He's doing alright. He says he'd rather be where he is than with me right now. He doesn't like the sound of Good Miss Valkyrie, Queen of the Quiet Castle." Arthur was a patient fellow, laid back and seldom possessed by worries. One could tell just from listening to him that he'd make a good Dragonite one day; Dragonites were characterized by their carefree lifestyles. Everybody believed Sophia and Arthur to be a strange but suitable pair; strange because typically Dragonairs preferred other legless species such as those of the Ekans line, but suitable because Sophia's spunk made a nice contrast to Arthur's calm.

Graham sighed. "I disagree. I wish Arthur could be here right now. He could use Sunny Day and make the temperature go up. I feel so awkward having to huddle by your tail to keep warm whenever I'm outside." He laid back on his bed and enjoyed the comforting feel of the pillows and blanket. "Sorry Tail," he muttered to his companion, "but tonight you'll have to sleep under the covers. These blankets aren't made for Girafarigs."

"Saturn is the second largest planet in our solar system!" his tail groaned.

"Hey Sophia?" Graham yawned.

"What?" Sophia answered back, not looking away from her intense conversation with Andrew.

"How are you guys going to sleep? These blankets don't feel fireproof, I'm sure your tails will set them and the whole room on fire."

"Oh don't worry about it. Hotel beds in FF's are made with us in mind." Graham had to remind himself that "FF" was the common term used for Fire-Friendly places these days, whether they were houses or hotel rooms. "They may not look or feel like it, but this entire room is completely fireproof. The Swablus that clean these rooms use Safeguard on everything, which prevents stuff from getting burnt or electrocuted or frozen or stuff. Whenever they come in to clean, they always use Safeguard before leaving so that we don't have to worry. Otherwise, a Glalie might turn its room into a freezer. Or a Muk might poison the fabrics. It isn't only FF's that need special treatment, you know." To prove her point, Sophia slammed her tail on an ottoman nearby. Though the flame obviously hit the wicker piece of furniture, the ottoman didn't even sustain a scorch mark. "And watch this," she added, turning around and grinning at Graham. Sophia took a deep breath, turned her head towards her bed, and let out a great big Flamethrower. In a normal situation her bed would have been reduced to ashes, but when the fire cleared the only evidence it had ever been there was the temperature of the air around it.

"Good enough for me," Graham shrugged.

Danny opened the bathroom door and stepped out. His scales shined in the suite's lamplight, dry cleaned to a polished effect. He tiredly sat down on his bed and started changing into his pajamas. Just as he was covering up his underwear with pajama bottoms, he paused to sniff the air. Almost immediately he gave Sophia a dark glare. "Sophia," he scolded, "what did Dad say about playing with fire while we're at a hotel?"

"What Dad doesn't know won't burn him," Sophia grinned. She tapped a button on her laptop to shut it off, then jumped into her bed. "Well then, gentlemen, I bid you all good night!"

"Night, Sophia."

"Good night, guys," Graham whispered. He slipped under the covers, and after a period of restlessness from his tail frustratedly squirming around under the blankets trying to get comfortable, his main head fell asleep.

* * *

It wasn't until late at night that Dr. Flarison returned to the suite. He stumbled as he crossed the doorway, reaching for the wall for support. The man limply took off his snow-covered winter jacket and waved his large tail about his body, melting and drying off the snow that managed to collect on him. Consumed in his own thoughts, he did not see his elder child wake. The Charmeleon girl, not feeling tired anyway, rose silently from her bed and whispered a greeting to her father. Dr. Flarison hardly noticed her. He did not grab his pajamas or go into the bathroom; instead, he quietly marched to the armchair and collapsed. He stared out the frosted window into the dark night, mind devoted to a single event.

"Father?" Sophia whispered, sitting herself down on the wicker chair beside him without putting her feet up on the ottoman. "Welcome back."

"Hm?" Dr. Flarison grunted with surprise, startled out of his thoughts at last. He squinted at Sophia in the darkness, lit up only by his and his daughter's tail flames. The flames flickered like the flames in a fireplace, granting the suite the feel that a fireplace truly was present, gently lighting the room with warmth. "Oh, hello Sophia," he mumbled distantly. "What are you doing up at such an hour?"

"You woke me up. Remember? I'm a light sleeper." Sophia grinned, revealing her set of sharp, glimmering teeth.

"Oh yes, that's right. I'm sorry to have awaken you."

"That's alright, Dad. I could use a hot chocolate anyway. Want me to make you some too?"

"That would be very comforting, please do."

Sophia rose from her seat and merrily crossed over to the kitchen-like area, getting together the ingredients she needed. She poured chocolate powder and then water into two orange mugs shaped like Magikarp. Lightly torching the bottoms of the mugs, she gently heated the water in a matter of seconds. She busily went to work stirring the powder in. As she worked, Dr. Flarison smiled. His daughter was growing more beautiful everyday. He would be reluctant to let her go off to college when the time came.

Sophia returned with the hot chocolate and handed a mug to her father's orange hand. He took it gratefully and thanked her. Sophia was just sitting back down on her chair when she happened to catch sight of something disturbing on her father's long neck. "Dad!" she gasped, keeping her voice down with respect to those who still slept. "Where did you get those bruises?" Sure enough, her father's neck was bruised and looked tender.

"I was kind of hoping you wouldn't notice," Dr. Flarison gloomily sighed, hanging his head. "But I can't lie to you. I was..." He looked away, or, to be more precise, he looked out the window. From where they sat they could both see the towers of Dancer's Castle glittering in the moonlight. A single window in the tower was lit, though it was too far away to see into it clearly. After a bit of hesitation, Dr. Flarison finished his sentence, not looking away from the window. "I was attacked."

"Attacked!?" Sophia exclaimed in horror, rushing to her father and kneeling down in front of him. "When? Why?"

"I don't know why. I was coming back from my walk when a figure in the darkness ran out of an alley right towards me. I was caught by surprise, and before I could properly react it dealt a hard blow to my neck. By the time my head cleared up it was gone."

"Do you think, maybe, that it was whatever kidnapped Lady Valkyrie's daughter?" Sophia offered.

"That's the most likely reason. But... I don't know, it didn't look like the type to kidnap children."

"What Pokemon was it?"

"I couldn't exactly tell, but I think it was a Crobat."

"Strange, very strange..."

The father and his daughter only spoke a few more words before Dr. Flarison began feeling faint. Sophia quickly put him to bed and sat by herself for a while in the armchair, thoughtfully sipping her hot chocolate and looking out the window. The light in the castle had been turned off.

Graham shut his eyes. He had overheard everything, and though he didn't speak up or show any signs of being awake he found the incident with Dr. Flarison very troubling. Now he wished to return to sleep. The two heads of a Girafarig took turns sleeping and keeping watch, and Graham was about ready for his main head's turn to venture into the subconscious.

* * *

**A Note from the Author: **I hope you enjoyed this! If you read it, please write a review! I don't get enough of them...


	4. Whispers of the Mind

**A Note from the Author:** Well, I've revised Chapter 4! This was previously titled "A Shadow Strikes," but with the changes I made I found a more suiting title. There were many things to fix here. The original Chapter 4 had loads of inconsistencies with the plots and backgrounds of later chapters; the characters were too unlike themselves; and many of the events lacked emotion. It's all fixed now; and hey! The village even has a name now! I hope you enjoy these changes. Please write me a review if you read!

* * *

**Chapter 4: Whispers of the Mind**

_...llo......Hello...?_

_Huh? What? Who was that?_

_Hello...? Is this... Who is this...? Who...are you...?_

_I... Well, my name is Graham. Graham Hopkins. But really, I should be the one asking who you are. Or, for that matter, _what_ you are._

_Oh, well at least it's good to know this works... Though you aren't exactly who I was expecting to contact... Oh dear..._

_Please, answer my question. Who are you?_

_I'm... I'm sorry... Mother always told me... I'm not supposed to tell my name...to strangers... But I was very lonely, and was hoping to find somebody I could talk to... So perhaps we can still talk...?_

_Wait, am I even awake?_

_In a way... You are floating in your subconscious right now. I guess, in a way, you are sleeping. Or at least, part of you is..._

_You're probably talking about my tail. At least, I think so._

_Your tail is...awake? Oh, you must be...a Girafarig? How...fascinating... I've always loved...fascinating things..._

_I know, it is kind of fascinating to be asleep knowing that the other half of my mind is awake, standing guard until it becomes time for our halves to trade places. Weird, even._

_So fascinating... If he doesn't mind...I'll have to have a talk with your tail...once it goes to sleep... I've always wondered...what a Girafarig's tail has to say..._

_I don't think you'll be able to do much... He doesn't talk in a regular fashion. Just gibberish, for the most part._

_Oh...hee hee...is that what you think? Mom said that deep down in their mind, the tail of a Girafarig is just as smart as the main head..._

_The way you talk... Are... Are you... How old are you? Are you sure you can't tell me who you are?_

_Well... I suppose...we can be friends... Secret friends... Mom won't ever have to know... I will tell you my name, and only my name... My name...is Cathy..._

_It's a pleasure to meet you, Cathy._

_Same to you...Graham... I hope you don't mind...but I'd very much like...to talk again...in future nights..._

_Future nights? Uh, you mean when I'm asleep?_

_Maybe... Maybe not... We can talk when you're awake... Just at night... I'm so lonely...at night... Lonely... So very lonely..._

_I guess that's alright... Are you feeling alright?_

_Of course I'm feeling...alright... I am...a very powerful...Psychic Pokemon... I always feel...alright..._

_If you say so, my new friend..._

_That reminds me... We're secret...secret friends... Please...I beg of you...don't tell anybody...about me... I want this all to be our little...secret...hidden from the cold, watching eyes...and unknown to the house of ice... Promise me... You will never tell..._

_Alright, I promise. I can keep a secret._

_Thank you very much...Graham... Oh..._

_What is it?_

_I think...your tail is falling asleep... Your turn to be awake...I suppose... It was...a pleasure...talking to you, Graham. I'll be looking forward...to speak with you tomorrow night... Good-bye..._

* * *

The Dancer's Castle wasn't the only point of interest at the mountain's summit. A few hundred meters away, a mountain village sat nestled beneath the citadel's ominous shadow. Home to a variety of Ice Pokemon as well as other mountain-suited types, the small city was named Siren's Peak, it's namesake being the peak of the mountain, rising 1,000 feet from the summit. There wasn't hardly a moment of the day were the entire village wasn't eclipsed in shadow by one of the structures; Dancer's Castle stood at the eastern end of the summit, and the peak rose from the western end. The peak was almost as ominous as the castle, its rocky sides bare and snowless, towering over the villagers' heads like a skyscraper of earth ceaselessly observing them in silent contempt.

Siren's Peak was notorious for having only one or two days without snowfall each week. Most days were dark and dreary, the clouds floating above, below, and sometimes level with the roads and houses, snow falling like no tomorrow. Yet no matter how hard it snowed, as long as it wasn't a blizzard it was still possible to look up and see the mountain peak looming over you. This morning was one of the snowy days, and the frozen precipitation heavily fell as Graham and Sophia stepped outside the warm hotel. The snowflakes stubbornly clung to the fur on Graham's snouts, causing both of his heads to sneeze. The flakes easily slid off Sophia's smooth scales, but they stuck to her furry tan parka even more relentlessly than they did to Graham's fur. The snow melted when they passed her hot tail flame or smoking nostrils. This may have seemed at first to be a plus, but an accumulation of water had the capability to sting Fire Pokemon as if they had been burnt on a stove. Though the water around her tail didn't take long to dry, the melted snow around her nostrils started to irritate her. It wasn't long before she pulled up her parka's hood over her head. Graham watched in annoyance, grimly recalling that as a Girafarig he was incapable of shielding his long neck with a hood. A winter hat was the best he could do. Sophia caught his expression, and grinned with pleasure. "What's the matter? Jealous that a certain somebody is safe from the dreadful snow?" she teased. Graham's tail stuck his tongue out at her, only to have it briefly freeze. Upon witnessing this, Sophia just laughed and laughed.

Just roaming about the streets of Siren's Peak was an experience in itself. Siren's Peak boasted great historical value for the region, possessing one of the few castles in the northwest built before European expansion into North America. Most of the structures in the village dated back to the 1800's; almost every building doubled as a historical monument. The appeal to tourism was reinforced by the charm of the log cabin-style buildings that filled the village. Apart from tourists, Siren's Peak mainly housed Snorunts, a rare species to find south of their native home, the mountains of Canada. Snorunt were peculiar Pokemon, not evolving until later in life whereas most Pokemon evolved around puberty. Their evolutions were difficult to spot on the streets; all the Glalies, having evolved as Snorunts well past their 40's, weren't as likely as the younger denizens of Siren's Peak to be walking about the town, and any Froslass that weren't elderly were typically put to work in the Dancer's Castle. But Snorunts and their evolutions weren't the only Pokemon Graham and Sophia passed by on their walk through town. A family of Sneasels stood by a toy store, the parents arguing ferociously with their screaming children over whether or not to get the toys pictured in the window. As he and Sophia passed them, Graham felt his muscles grow tense and his mind become scattered. Psychic techniques were disabled in the presence of Dark Pokemon, which were immune to mental attacks and could trump Psychic Pokemon with their sneaky Dark attacks. Though the Sneasels had done nothing wrong to him, as a Psychic Pokemon he couldn't help but get uneasy when around Dark Pokemon.

His mind didn't become focused and his muscles didn't ease until they crossed the street at an intersection. Graham suddenly realized what was about too happen all too late, and Sophia could only shout a "Watch out!" before the Girafarig stumbled straight into a Stantler. The collision between the two artiodactylids made the old deer drop his grocery bag, and food scattered on the snow-covered sidewalk. "Watch it!" he grumbled. "Why, if I wasn't in a hurry..." Now it was Sophia's turn to lose her mind. Stantlers were Normal Pokemon, but they were in a sort of category of Pokemon which were one element but specialized in another (other members of this group included Glalie, Ice Pokemon specializing in Dark attacks; the Vulpix line, Fire Pokemon skillful with Ghost attacks; and the Venonat line, Bug/Poison Pokemon that utilized a variety of Psychic attacks). The antlers of a Stantler gave off hypnotic waves, but of a different sort than Madame Morpheus'. Stantlers were notorious for giving people hallucinations if they looked at their antlers for too long. This particular Stantler had a pair of antlers shaped like a Christmas tree, and Sophia couldn't help but stare at it in wonder. She wobbled where she stood dizzily, and Graham quickly put his arm around her to keep her from losing her balance. Psychic Pokemon were immune to the hallucinatory waves.

"I'm very sorry, sir," the Girafarig apologized. "Let me help..." Glad to use some Psychic powers after the brief removal of his abilities, Graham mentally sent the scattered groceries into the bag within a matter of seconds.

"Don't do it again," the Stantler grunted. "But...all the same... Thank you for trying to make up for it. Your help's appreciated. Have a good day." The old man bowed his head in appreciation, then turned and grumpily walked across the intersection and away towards the Sneasels.

"You feeling alright, Sophia?" Graham asked after the Stantler was gone.

"Oh? Um...yeah. Thanks for asking." The Charmeleon vigorously shook her head for a moment to get rid of the delirious waves.

"All these eskimos and reindeer make it feel like I'm at the North Pole!"

"The what?"

"Uh, the Snorunts and Stantlers."

"Oh, I thought you said something else. Yeah, they do, don't they? I'm half expecting Santa Claus to fly down with his bag of goodies." Graham quickly made a mental note that she probably meant a Delibird.

The two continued on their way. After trudging in the snow for a bit, witnessing no red-and-white birds fly down from the sky with bags of goodies, a small walk-in store caught Sophia's eye. "Hey look!" she remarked, pointing at the building with a claw. Graham followed her finger's direction and saw a minute building with a striking resemblance to a log cabin. Smoke rose from its brick chimney, and a cheerful sign in front of the wooden door read, "The Cold Tongue's Enemy." Pictured on the sign was a mischievous-looking street light, grinning sneakily and eying the sign's viewers as if coming up with some diabolical plot. Graham and his tail couldn't help but chuckle at the picture. The joke, of course, was the reference to how tongues notoriously could get stuck to cold street lights. "Graham, I think it's a tavern!" explained Sophia, gazing at the building as if it was exactly what she was looking for. She had a love for European-style restaurants, and seemed to really be drawn to the Cold Tongue's Enemy. Finally, after observing it a little, she came to a decision. "We HAVE to check it out!" she roared. Sophia forcefully yanked Graham's arm and begin pulling him towards the tavern.

Graham's main head was quick to yelp, and his tail snarled viciously, baring his razor-sharp teeth defensively. "Sophia, please don't do that! Remember, your claws are sharp!" the main head furiously snapped.

"Dot your I's and cross your T's!" growled his tail.

Sophia immediately dropped his arm and glared at him crossly. "Fine, fine, Mr. Grumpy. But come on, let's check it out! I'm hungry!" As if to prove the point, the salamander's stomach loudly rumbled.

Graham gave in after hearing his own four stomachs rumble, each a note in an arpeggio. "Fine, fine. Hey Tail, do you want to have something to eat?"

"Oui, monsieur! J'adore les zebres!"

"It's settled then, Graham, let's go!" Sophia was the first one to the door.

The tavern was a very cozy place. On the far side of the pub, a warm fire flickered in a fireplace, surrounded by pine tables and chairs. The floor was turquoise-colored wood, and the walls were brown logs. The tavern was pleasantly decorated with foliage, well-watered plants resting at the sides of the door and the bartender's counter. A young waiter briskly approached Graham and Sophia and greeted them. He was a Glaceon, blatantly evident from the two locks dangling from his blue hair along the sides of his canine face and all the way down to just beyond his shoulders in front of his chest, their rhombus-shaped tips resembling crystals of ice. He was covered from head to toe in flat, icy blue fur as stiff as icicles, with a dark, turquoise rhombus-shaped mark here and there, concealed from view by his waiter outfit. Being a dog he walked only on his toes, heels raised into the air identical to a person standing tip-toe, but despite this he was a short fellow. Sophia seemed to be a few inches taller, and Graham towered above his dark blue hair. An azure, geometric tail swished behind him, showing he was delighted at the arrival of two new visitors. The waiter was dressed in typical European waiter apparel, fitting the style of the tavern. Sophia felt almost as if she had just stepped out of Alaska and into England. "Good day, sir and madam," the waiter greeted, grinning his sharp teeth in a wide smile. "Welcome to the Cold Tongue's Enemy! And don't worry--our food is much better than our name makes it sound like!" It wasn't the best joke in the world. "Where would you two like to sit?"

"By the fire," Graham and Sophia said in unison.

"Great, then if you would please follow me..." The waiter brought them to a table with two chairs by the fire. "My name's Glace. Please call on me if you need anything; I'll be back to take your orders in a bit." With a paw he placed two menus on the table, politely seated his guests, and scurried away.

"That was a nice fellow," Graham commented, slipping his tail's head through the bars in the chair. "I like him."

"Yeah, Eevees generally are delightful people," Sophia nodded. "I like him too." She opened the menu and gave it a good look over. The biggest picture on the menu depicted what looked very similar to Lady Valkyrie's Roast Combusken. She wanted something else, though. "Hm... What looks good to you, Graham?"

Graham didn't even hold his menu. It merely floated in front of him, suspended in the air by his mental powers. "Oh, I like the sound of roast Oddish soup. Something nice and warm like that would be wonderful in this weather."

"I suppose... Hey, cool! Today's Friday, right? There's a special on Fish and Chips! Let's see what the fish is... Hm, Feebas? That's really exquisite, I wonder where they got them... Oh, but I could replace the fish with crustaceans or mollusks... _Dang_, fried Shellders with popcorn Corphish? Mmm, mmm, delicious!" Sophia smacked her lips and set the menu down happily.

"Shellfish, up here?" Graham remarked with a raised eyebrow. "I wonder where they flew them in from?"

"Trainer BLUE found a Poke Ball! But the bag's too full!" suggested his tail.

Glace soon returned to take their orders. "Ladies first," he winked.

"Hm, I would like the Shellders and Corphish, please. With some lemonade to drink."

"As for you, sir?"

"We'd like the Oddish soup, please, and some salad to go with it. And two glasses of water, please."

"Gotcha. I'll be back faster than a block of ice," Glace chimed, twirling around and departing with a grin on his face. As he trotted off to inform the Shuckle chef of his guests' orders, Graham's tail decided to have a look around the restaurant. There weren't a lot of people around. The only other person eating at the tavern at the time was a tubby Lickylicky, voraciously gorging his fat pink self on as much food as he could possibly purchase; only a Snorlax could have ate more. The repulsive sounds of its enormous slobbering tongue were blocked only by the crackling of the calm fire. "Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!!!" the tail remarked.

"Shh, quiet down," Graham's main head hushed. "What's the matter, Tail?"

"I want to play Ditto Super Star Ultra!"

"What's he going on about, Graham?" Sophia asked, peeking over the table at her friend's confusing second head.

"I don't know, I think he's concerned about how few people there are at this tavern. Take a look yourself. There's only that Lickitung over there."

"That's a Lickylicky, Graham," Sophia scoffed, rolling her eyes at her companion's lack of Pokemon intellect.

"Well forgive me for not memorizing every 400 plus Pokemon," the Girafarig retorted. "Anyway, there's nothing to be scared of, Tail, so quiet down." He could see the faint red blush on his tail's face underneath the velvety brown fur.

It was at that moment that Glace returned with their food. "Yeah, our customers have been fewer and fewer lately," Glace sighed. "Come to think of it, I haven't seen either of you around these parts before. I must say it's surprising to see new faces at a time like this." He took a deep breath and exhaled as he placed the dishes covered in warm food on the table. His cold breath was visible even in the warm tavern. After setting the glasses down, Glace rested a paw against the table and absently ran his other paw through his rigid hair, straightening it out while deep in thought. He looked up at the two customers and slowly made a smile. "You guys mind if I join you for a bit? I doubt that Lickylicky's going anywhere soon..."

"Sure," Sophia accepted with a nod. "Just as long as you don't mind hanging out with a Fire Pokemon."

"I'm sure I can handle it. My brother's a Flareon, and I've frozen him a couple of times." Glace grabbed a chair from a nearby table and seated himself between Graham and Sophia. Graham pulled another chair over and quietly set his salad and one of the glasses of water onto the chair for his tail to eat. He then turned back around and picked up his soup spoon. "Cheers," he muttered before dipping the spoon into the nearby bowl and having a taste of the Oddish soup. He found it to be very delicious, seeming to melt all the coldness in his body. "Ooooo, this is the perfect temperature!" he exclaimed, grinning.

"You think so?" Glace responded, sounding quite pleased. "Seemed a bit too warm for me. But I suppose then again I _am_ an Ice Pokemon."

"Hey Glace," Sophia asked through a mouthful of Shellders, "why have you been losing customers? You're a good waiter, and the chef seems to know what he's doing." With expertise she used her sharp claws to peel open another Shellder. "I don't see any reason for people not to come."

"Oh, it's all because of the recent events." Glace looked at the fireplace absently. "Long story, I doubt you'd care to hear it."

"Oh come on, tell us!"

"...fine." Glace sighed again, his breath forming a faint mist as it rose into the air. "It all started when our governess called for this guy from South America. So first that fellow from Peru shows up, all full of himself and of how he had a 'personal invitation from Lady Valkyrie.' I wish we could have ignored him, but he was a Xatu; you almost never see them north of Mexico, and up here in the mountains his presence was so bizarre we couldn't keep our eyes off him. And being a Xatu, he could see the future whenever he so liked. He'd march around town, telling everybody's fortunes like he knew everything. We could never tell when he was telling the truth about our futures or lying, but whenever we didn't do what he wanted he would just zone out for a moment and threaten us that not helping him would cause a tragic event to happen in our distant futures. And being a Psychic Pokemon he could force us to do what he wanted if we still refused, and if we were ignoring his annoying, bragging bird chatter he'd make us stop. We haven't had any Electric Pokemon in Siren's Peak since my sister moved away, so we couldn't even deal with him when he flew too high for us to personally stop his boasts. We probably couldn't have zapped him even if Sarah was still here, though, because after all, Lady Valkyrie invited him. I don't really know why she would; why should she go through so much trouble just to know her future? After a while he went and moved up into the castle."

"But is he gone now?"

Glace made a face. "I doubt it. He's probably still up there in that castle; we still haven't seen him leave it, we're pretty sure he hasn't flown away. Hopefully he knew how to Teleport. He hasn't been in town since going up there, though, so at least his terrible attitude isn't bugging us anymore. I swear, if he wasn't a royal guest I would have Ice Beamed him to kingdom come!" Glace pounded his paw on the table, leaving the spot where he hit it covered in a light layer of frost.

"Why follow the yellow brick road when you can take an airplane?" asked Graham's tail.

"If he's in the castle and not in town, then why haven't people come back?" Graham's main head translated.

"Well, just a few days after we stopped seeing him, the princess went missing. That just sent the town into an uproar. Then it got worse; the uproar turned into a panic after the press announcement that the kidnapper was a Ghost Pokemon. I remember my youngest sister diving under her bed and crying. Psychic Pokemon can be so scared of ghosts, you know? No offense," Glace nodded towards Graham.

"Oh cool, so your sister's an Espeon?" Sophia gasped in amazement. "Can she predict the weather like they say they can?"

"Of course," Glace proudly answered, beaming at his two customers. "We always rely on Josette to tell us the weather, she's very good at it. We're hoping she'll be a weather person on the news when she grows older.

"But anyway, nobody wanted to come to Siren's Peak once they knew there was a Ghost criminal on the loose. We used to be swamped with tourists this time of the year; now they're all scared away."

"Even the Normal Pokemon?" Graham inquired. Normal Pokemon, like Girafarig and Stantler, were immune to Ghosts in the same way that Dark Pokemon were immune to Psychics.

"They're too worried about losing their children," Glace sighed with a frown. "My mom--she's not an Eevee, she's a Glaceon like me--she was so frightened the first few days for Josette. I was too, I'm very protective over her."

"What was the princess like?" Sophia asked, hoping for a change of mood. "I've heard so much about her kidnapping but so little about her herself."

"Well," Glace started, lazily leaning back in his chair and listening with relief as the loud slobbering of the Lickylicky died down in volume, "she was a bit of a strange girl. She'd never go anywhere without her Regice bodyguard, as if she always feared something bad was going to happen. I suppose in the end something bad _did_ happen. But sometimes I felt she didn't need a protector. Whenever I saw her she seemed so skilled at her Psychic and Ice abilities that to this day I think she could look after herself. Maybe it was because her mother insisted so much that the Regice stayed. The princess didn't seem to like her mother very much... We'd often see her in the village on a walk and she'd always have a beaming smile on her face, as if she were the happiest person in the world. But whenever she was with her mother, nothing in the world could get that Smoochum to smile. We all saw it too, because that Regice would try desperately to cheer her up."

"I assume you mean Goliath?" Graham asked with mild interest.

"Yes," Glace smirked. "That's the one. The only one, maybe. You know, I'm not quite sure how Lady Valkyrie got her hands on Goliath, or how she gained such control over him. There are probably loads of people up at the castle who know... But I hardly ever go up there." Glace leaned forward and Graham and Sophia leaned their heads in to hear. "Goliath showed up about eighteen years ago, just out of nowhere. That very first day where he walked through the village to go to his new home at Dancer's Castle... Lady Valkyrie was at his side the entire time. That was when I was in middle school, just a few days before I became a Glaceon. I remember that moment well, but I also remember Lady Valkyrie being nicer long before that. She began getting mean after she had the princess. The Mr. Mime she married ran away just two years after the princess was born. It just seemed to make something snap in Lady Valkyrie; she went from surly to cruel in an instant. Just like that she grew cold and withdrawn, and it wasn't long after that before she came back from vacation with Goliath at her side."

"Wow, you sure know a lot," Sophia remarked as she sipped her lemonade.

"Well, my mother told me a lot of stories about the Valkyries. You wouldn't believe the things I know about them."

Glace and his customers began discussing the mysteries of Dancer's Castle while Graham's tail took a break from the action. He lazily rolled his eyes around the room again, until they rested once more on the Lickylicky. He had finished eating rather abruptly, and he hurriedly tidied up his mouth with a napkin. He hastily dug into a pocket of his suit, found the money he needed--a lot--and set it on the table. Without another moment he briskly marched out of the restaurant, not even saying "Thank you."

* * *

Far away, a Houndoom howled ominously in the cold darkness. Its eerie call hauntingly echoed across the mountains, ricocheting off of cliffs and houses and even the bleak Dancer's Castle. The howl was shortly answered by another, younger-sounding one; a Houndour on the other side of the mountain was making its reply. Some thought it strange that such Pokemon lived in the mountains, but the Houndoom didn't give a care about what was strange and what wasn't, as long as it got food in their stomachs. In this morbid way they paralleled people not too far away, lurking strangers whom nobody with good in their hearts knew about; wretched beings who did not care what they did as long as it brought them gain. People who would even plot so far as to end a life to keep a dark secret a mystery.

Graham and Sophia did not begin their journey back to the hotel until after sun had already set. Siren's Peak seemed scarier at night. Like phantoms returning to their graves, the ghostly Froslass returned home from the Dancer's Castle. Their semi-transparent white kimonos sent fearful chills up Graham's already cold spine. His sentinel tail, stuffed from their dinner at a small cafe in town, was too sleepy to stay awake and snored quietly while the rest of his body walked; the lack of a pair of eyes covering his backside, together with the spectral Froslass and the foreboding Houndoom calls, left Graham feeling unnaturally vulnerable. It was fortunate he had Psychic powers to protect himself, but one never quite knew what the night could bring. He swore he spotted Houndour hungrily prowling the empty streets a few blocks away. Even an ex-human like himself knew that where there were Houndour, there were probably Houndoom. A mixture of Dark and Fire elements, the Houndour line paralleled the wolves from his world, except they were far more fierce and terrifying. Decorated with bony growths that resembled the skeletons of their prey, a bite from these devil-like creatures of the night left their victims permanently burnt for the rest of their short lives. This was truly a dark time for Siren's Peak.

Spotting what may have been a Houndour too, Sophia defensively clutched her tail for warmth and protection. The tail was their only source of light apart from the streetlights. The light of her tail flame cast eerie glows on the log cabin buildings they passed. Every light was off; it seemed Graham and Sophia were the last people in the streets that night. That wouldn't last for long, though; the hotel was nearly in sight. Neither of them could wait any longer for the warmth and comfort of their suite.

As they passed under a streetlight, the orange glow of it radiated suddenly was cut off by a dark shadow. A second later, the shadow was gone. Graham stopped in his tracks. "Sophia, did you see that?" he gulped. He searched the dark block with his eyes for the cause of that brief shadow, but couldn't spot anything.

"See what?" Sophia grumpily asked. "I'm not really in the mood to stop and sightsee any more. I want to go back to the hotel."

"I saw the shadow of something swooping over our heads!"

"It was probably a Noctowl or a Zubat or something. Look, the hotel's almost in sight. Let's go."

"I really don't think it was one of those... Wait..." Graham's ears pricked up. "I think I hear something..."

"Oh really? And what would that be?" Sophia stopped and turned around impatiently. Her jaw almost immediately dropped. "G-Graham, look out behind you!"

"What?" Graham spun around, and got out of the way just in time to avoid a large purple creature swoop past him. It sped away for about a block, then halted abruptly in the air, twirled around, and swooped back. This time it was Sophia who was almost clobbered into. It stopped under the street light, and they finally got a good look at what it was. It was a stubby purple bat with four wings, flapping them in a way that kept him suspended in the air. It was a Crobat, a Poison/Flying Pokemon that a Golbat evolved into when it had reached a particular level of satisfaction and happiness in its life. The Crobat had its species' trademark toothy grin, sharp teeth glistening in the light, and hanging out of the man's mouth between his teeth was a large cigar. The man was dressed in a dapper black suit with grey pinstripes and white cuffs. His yellow, haunting eyes glared at Graham and Sophia malevolently, and both of them took a step back. "Hello, children," the Crobat greeted. His untrustworthy voice carried a heavy German accent. "Aren't you glad I dropped by? Children your age shouldn't be roaming the streets at night. Yuck yuck yuck!" It was a wretched laugh to listen to.

"Excuse me? We aren't children," Sophia angrily snapped. "And you need to watch where you're going."

"You don't look over 18 to me, my dear," the Crobat snarled. He gave a grin so cadaverous that even the cold air seemed to shake in fear. In a sneering tone he added, "You two should be careful. Bad things happen to those who aren't careful at night. Perhaps I should help you back to wherever it is that you are going? It isn't safe with all these Houndooms around. I can protect you."

"We don't need your help. Come on, Graham, let's ditch this creep." Sophia started to leave. The Crobat was in front of her blocking her way in the blink of an eye.

"Come now. That just isn't sensible. We wouldn't want anything bad to happen to two _grown-ups_ such as yourselves."

"Sophia, I don't think he's going to let us go..." Graham whispered.

"Ah! Now _there's_ a smart one!" The Crobat swooped in front of Graham and smiled wickedly. "I'm glad somebody respects my humble effort to keep you two safe. What's your name, oh smart one? Graham? What an _intelligent_ name." The Crobat hovered closer. Graham could feel the bat's putrid cigar smoke tickle his nose.

"On second thought, Sophia, let's get out of here," Graham ordered. He immediately made a dodge for the right, but was slammed in the ribs by the armless Crobat's wings. The Girafarig tumbled to the ice-covered ground and fell unconscious.

"Sarah Palin!" his tail cried, knocked awake by the impact.

"Graham, are you okay?" Sophia gasped in shock. Suddenly it dawned on her what was going on. "Hey you!" she roared at the Crobat.

"What is it, my dear? Would you like to play this little game as well?"

"You're the guy who beat up my father last night!" The Crobat seemed to grow larger and more dangerous as the words flowed out of her mouth. Suddenly she stopped seeing the Crobat as a creep but more as a threat.

"Ah, so you are the daughter of the Pokemon Professor!" The smirk on the Crobat's face grew even wider and hostile. "Well then, why don't I let you follow in his footsteps?" The Crobat slowly approached the girl, who shrunk back. "I'm sure your neck won't be as easy to break as his was. What's the matter, scared? Don't worry. I'm sure your funeral will warm up this place." The Crobat lunged at her, mouths open wide, ready for a venomous Poison Fang. Sophia was prepared for the assault, though, and dove out of the way once more. It was a very close call; though the Crobat missed, his wing scratched Sophia's neck. It wasn't long before Sophia could feel blood running down from the cut.

"You Dracula wanna-be, you'll pay for that," Sophia growled. She took a deep breath and sucked oxygen into her burning lungs. The oxygen lit the air in her lungs ablaze, and she exhaled a column of orange flames straight towards the Crobat. Her Flamethrower missed, and melted the snow just a foot away from Graham's tail.

"Missed me!" the Crobat teased. Suddenly he was knocked forward onto the snow by a hit from behind. Graham's tail, wanting to help in some way, launched its own Psybeam--twice as effective against Poison Pokemon--at the Crobat's back. The mental beam dazed the Crobat, and he briefly stumbled trying to get up, his mind jumbled into confusion. The confusion didn't last long, and the purple bat launched into the air. "Thought you had me, little Girafarig? I'm far more powerful than you are; not even a Psybeam can stop me!" At that moment a big blast of fire scorched the man. "YEOWCH!" As the fire subsided he hovered in the moonlight, stared down at Sophia, and angrily roared, "You little twerp, you'll wish you hadn't done that!"

"But... That wasn't me..." Sophia looked around for the source of the Fire Blast.

"Oh yeah? Then who was it?" Suddenly the Crobat was tackled by another flying figure. The two fell to the ground. The Crobat tried flying back up to safety but was held down by a strong orange dragon.

"This is for the neck!" he growled, unleashing a Mega Punch that launched the Crobat into the streetlamp.

"Dad!" Sophia cheered, running to the Charizard who stood before them. "You saved us!" Sophia lovingly hugged Dr. Flarison, who kept his keen dragon eyes on the Crobat as it fluttered into the air.

"Stupid, good for nothing Charizard!" he growled. "I should have ripped you to pieces when I had the chance!" Sophia, Dr. Flarison, and Graham's tail all looked up at him with confident faces, ready to deal more damage if they had to. Perhaps he was getting into more than he could handle. "Fine, alright," he shrugged. "With your father here I have no need to escort you to your happy homes. I suppose you three have won this round, but I shall be back, mark my words, and I shall have the last laugh! Yuck yuck yuck yuck!" As quickly as he could, the Crobat made an about-face and flew away into the darkness.

Dr. Flarison protectively held Sophia tight in his arms. "Thank goodness you're alright. How's Graham doing?"

"I think that Crobat knocked him unconscious."

"We should probably get him inside then. Come on, help me get him up." The two walked over to the Girafarig and bent down. Dr. Flarison grabbed his shoulders, while Sophia clutched his legs. "On the count of three... One, two...three!" Both of the Pokemon used Strength and raised the Girafarig into the air. "Alright, got him?"

"Yeah, I got him."

"Okay, let's go. I think both of you could use a few bandages. How's he feeling, Tail?"

"I pledge allegiance to my flag," Graham's tail answered, nodding with a smile so as to indicate that Graham wasn't injured. The Flarisons slowly carried Graham back to the hotel.

* * *

Dwelling in his unconscious, Graham was not aware of the excitement going on around him. In the dark void he was trapped in, he heard the voice of a little girl. It began as a whisper, then grew to a quiet indoor voice. "_Graham? Are you there?_" It was Cathy again.

"_I... Uh... Yes... Yes, I'm here... Ugh! Why do I feel so terrible?_"

"_You're unconscious... You aren't supposed...to speak...in this state... You feel the pain...of your unconscious..._"

"_The pain?_"

"_The pain... The unconscious...finds pain...in talking... It was not made...to talk... Only silence... That is why...you never hear it... It is lonely... The pain...is the sadness it feels... That is why...you should not be aware...of your unconscious... But I felt something was wrong... So I must...talk with you..._"

"_I... I think I was just attacked by a Crobat. I don't know why he did it..._"

"_A Crobat...!? That must be... Oh my Arceus, were you with anybody...? Are they...alright...?_"

"_I certainly hope so. But... Do you know who I'm talking about?_"

"_He's... No, I don't...know him... It just...reminded me of...something..._"

"_Are you sure? He had a German accent and--_"

"_I'm sure! Just...no, I haven't ever heard of...a German Crobat..._"

"_Cathy, are you hiding something from me?_"

"_Hiding...hee hee... Am I...hiding something...? The world...hides...from me... My mother...hides...from...me..._" Cathy began to cry.

* * *

**A Note from the Author:** I hope you enjoyed this! Please write a review if you read it, I read every single one!


	5. The Mysterious Xatu from Peru

**A Note from the Author:** I've now revised Chapter 5. There were many more inconsistencies carried on from the old Chapter 4, but they are all fixed now. A lot of the scenes in this short chapter were weakly written and jumped around too much. I've drawn them out, added a few things foreshadowing or referring to previous or future scenes, and just in general made this chapter more pleasant to read. All the same, it still remains the second-shortest of the first five chapters. Please review if you read!

* * *

**Chapter 5: The Mysterious Xatu from Peru**

The next morning the Flarisons and Graham were back in the Dancer's Castle. Dr. Flarison and the investigation team were left to their work by Lady Valkyrie, Danny sticking around to observe his father work and help out every now and then if he could. Lady Valkyrie spent her day storming about the castle, devotedly searching for every little thing she could possibly gripe about. The Graham and Sophia's previous visit to the castle must have been down time for Lady Valkyrie, because this time around the castle was anything but silent. The screams and roars of the Jynx queen echoed through the halls, and even if they were on the other end of the castle they could hear the muffled yells of Lady Valkyrie attacking some poor individual. She was quick to criticize the job her Swablu cleaning staff did in the conference room. She ferociously nagged her Froslass handmaidens about their work on her hairdo that day. Nothing stopped her from verbally abusing Goliath once again, lowering its steadily plummeting self-esteem more and more. The Regice seldom could help hanging its head in shame. As morning turned into afternoon, however, Lady Valkyrie's voice box grew strained and she was forced to dismiss herself into her room, where she sat about worrying about something that troubled her constantly these days. She'd sit at the edge of her bed in thought, stand up with dignity, lose her pride, and pace around the room before looking outside her window and sighing. She'd return to her bed defeated, only to repeat the process. This only lasted until her voice box recovered; soon she set out again to reap chaos amongst her staff.

With permission from Lady Valkyrie (who wasn't too pleased they had barged in on Goliath's room on their last visit), Sophia and Graham returned to wandering about the citadel the moment they arrived. Like before, they checked out the relatively interesting ice sculptures and shady portraits of the old Glalie kings. Or at least, that was what they informed Dr. Flarison and Lady Valkyrie that they'd do. As soon as they vanished out of earshot, Sophia pinned Graham against the wall. "Sophia, what are you doing?" Graham growled. He had recovered from the previous night without much injury, though his ribs where he had been hit hurt badly and were not to be bothered for a while.

"You remember what that waiter said at the tavern?" she sharply whispered.

"You mean that Glace fellow? Not exactly..."

"He said nobody in town knew if that Xatu guy was still in the castle or not. It's been driving people away!"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Well, we're here, aren't we? Let's see if we can find him!"

"Are you...suggesting that we..."

"You bet! I want to do some snooping around."

"I don't think your father would approve." Graham pushed Sophia off of him and frowned at her.

"Dad wouldn't--if he knew. But he doesn't, does he? So are you going to help me see if that Xatu's still around or not?"

Graham looked at his friend. She didn't look like she had busted a circuit. "Does it really matter that much to you?"

"Of course! I mean, think of it; what if he was the one that captured the princess? Xatu can fly. Xatu can teleport. He could easily have taken her and made it look like a ghost did it."

"That might be going a little far... But..." He looked at Sophia staring at him, the excitement on her face growing. "...Okay. You helped save me from that Crobat. So I'll help you deal with this Xatu guy. Deal?"

"Yay! You bet!" Sophia gave him a tight hug. "Thanks Graham, you're the best!"

"Ow, watch my ribs!" Graham couldn't believe he was agreeing to help the future dragon, but the prospect of learning what had actually happened to the Xatu _did_ appeal to him, though it certainly didn't interest him as deeply as it did Sophia. As they started down the icy hall, however, he couldn't help feeling that they were getting into things they shouldn't be involved in...

* * *

Unfortunately, they didn't learn much by snooping around. There was evidence of birds living in the castle, but that evidence was only the cotton-like white feathers dropped occasionally by molting Swablus. There was a single oddball feather, but it was a large blue one sealed in a glass display case. "What do we have here?" Sophia muttered, investigating a small information plaque directly below the display. "Hm... 'This feather was discovered by Olga Valkyrie when she was 8 years old. Scientific tests have proven that it was dropped by the legendary Articuno, who has recently been reportedly spotted in the region. Under the request of Olga's father, the Medicham Vladimir Valkyrie, this feather has been cryogenically preserved as a memoir of the discovery. Olga, a big lover of Articuno, started the Articuno Protection Agency in 1993, which works to protect the elusive bird from hunters.' Wow, so this feather is really from an Articuno? Cool..."

They found no traces that specifically proved a Xatu was present in the castle. After an hour of searching for suspicious things that in the end left them right back where they started, Sophia resolved to use a different approach. She grabbed Graham's shoulder. "Ah, the beauty of an icy house full of mystery!" she sighed, beaming at her Psychic cohort and pretending to be a genius detective. "I propose we question somebody who works here!"

Graham rolled all four of his eyes, both heads still in disbelief that they had agreed to join Sophia on her quest. "Or, here's another idea," the main head offered flatly. "Perhaps we should just drop it?" His tail nodded in agreement, emphasizing their situation with a yawn.

"Of course not, Graham, we're just getting started!" the salamandress angrily snapped. "Now come on, let's go find somebody to interview!" Sophia proudly marched off, Graham following only because he had nothing better to do.

The first person they found had the misfortune to discover the full force of Sophia's curiosity. Young Cebeque, an experienced Froslass handmaiden of Lady Valkyrie who just happened to be on a lunch break, floated through a hallway trying to ease her tension after a fiery run-in with the Ice Witch from Hell. She was just passing an intersection with the corridor the two teenagers were in when Sophia spotted her. It only took a second for her to spy the gleam of intrigue that glittered like a lively fire in Sophia's reptilian eye. "Oh dear!" Cebeque cried. The handmaiden spirit threw her bizarre sleeve-like arms into the frosty air and tried to flee. Sophia burst into a chase behind her, the claws on her bare feet keeping her from slipping on the ice. Cebeque unfortunately was not fast enough, and Sophia quickly caught up. The Charmeleon tried tackling her, but the Normal attack merely slipped right through the ghost's kimono. Cebeque sped along without hindrance, but Sophia took in a deep breath in preparation for an Ember. "Watch out behind you!" Graham called to the Froslass, slipping and sliding his way behind Sophia. "Sophia, stop it! Don't you dare torch her!"

"Why are you chasing me!?" the ice ghost cried.

"I, uh, I just want to talk!" Sophia called back after swallowing her fireball. "Please?"

"You didn't need to chase her for that," Graham scolded.

"I'd like a Venti-sized Hot Chocolate," his tail added.

"Sorry..." Sophia sheepishly called to Cebeque, "Would you please come here, miss?"

"Is it safe to come closer?"

"Yes..."

Cebeque slowly and carefully hovered over to the two teenagers. "I think you're taking this a little too far," Graham continued to his cohort. "You shouldn't be attacking castle staff."

"I guess I just got a bit carried away... Sorry about that..." Sophia stood up straight and exhaled, doing her best to collect herself.

"It's alright, I suppose. I needed something to wake me up anyway, I don't want to lose track of time... My name's Cebeque, by the way, in case you needed to know that. What was it you so vigorously wanted of me, though? Is it important?" Cebeque asked, wiping the sweat of freezing raindrops from her forehead.

Sophia cleared her throat. "Possibly. We were hoping we could ask you about a Xatu that was invited here a while back."

"Oh, you mean that dreadful man that bragged about everything?" Cebeque responded, making a face that showed her repulsion. Sophia nodded slowly. Cebeque thought before continuing. She knew very well what may happen to her if she said too much about certain topics, and she, like all the other Froslasses, knew the fury that their mistress readily threw their way at the least bit of trouble. "Sure, I'll tell you about him. His name was Clarice. Clarice Voyalatl." She said the name with such disgust that she stuck her tongue out afterward as if to vomit the bad memories. "Clarice was a terrible man, oh _Arceus_ was he a terrible man, in many ways far more intolerable than my mistress. My lady just has a bad temper, she means well; even her husband had some good meaning in the things he said. But _this_ man meant business."

"Business?" Graham asked.

"He was heartless. There wasn't a bit of good in his body. He could easily make a Togepi cry just at the thought of him. You know what kind of things he did?" Graham and Sophia shook their heads apprehensively. "I will never forget when he openly hit on one of the other handmaidens--right in front of my mistress! We all expected my mistress to have one of her fits, to lay out the Pounds and Doubleslaps and maybe even a good Ice Punch on him, but she just looked the other way and politely requested for him to stop it. _Politely_! She isn't even polite with our state senators! It didn't matter to Clarice; I can't even count all the times he hit on us! And that's not all, there's more!"

"Oh my..."

"Clarice kept staring at Goliath as if he wanted to steal him or something. But the worst of it was how he treated the young mistress--he treated her like dirt. He told her her future once, which supposedly revealed she'd die in three years from a Houndoom attack. We all knew he was lying, but oh it scared the princess so! I wish my mistress had been there; that probably would have hit a nerve. Other times he'd beat the girl, right in front of my mistress!"

"_Beat_ her!?" Sophia gasped.

"You heard me. You could see the raging cold fire in my mistress' eyes, but she did nothing even to comfort her daughter. It was as if she hated that man, and yet at the same time as if that man was her holy savior and not to be touched. In any case, he certainly thought of himself as the latter."

"You'd think more people would talk about him," Graham remarked.

"Nobody ever wants to," Cebeque admitted, cringing. "He was such a terrible man. He wouldn't even tell us his name; he insisted we call him Master. But I did happen to catch his name, and it was Clarice Voyalatl, and ever since I've hated the name as if it were my dear Glalie's greedy accountant." A look of pure disgust crossed the Froslass' pale face at the thought of it.

"What ever happened to Clarice?" Sophia demanded.

"I haven't the slightest clue, and quite frankly I don't even care. His foul stench vanished around the same time as the princess. His belongings are still in his room and everything, but he himself certainly hasn't been around since he first left. We all hope he never comes back to get his things; my mistress is sure he won't, but insists on keeping them in case he does. Hopefully he's back in South America, far, far away, where we'll never see him again."

"Did anybody ever suspect he was the one who captured the princess?" Graham asked, scratching his main head's chin. "I think it's odd that the two should vanish around the same time. Plus, Xatu is a Pokemon that can learn Teleport. I think it would be very easy for a teleporting Pokemon to snatch a small Smoochum girl."

"It's been proposed, but my mistress dismissed the notion as soon as it came up. She seems to honestly and sincerely believe it wasn't him. I don't really know why she's so sure, but we have no right to question her. She'd have our heads, even if we _are_ Ghost Pokemon."

"Can we have a look Clarice's room?" Sophia requested suddenly.

"I can't see why you'd want too," Cebeque replied. "Besides, it's off-limits. The mistress doesn't want anybody going near there."

"Darn..." There was silence for a moment. The chilly aura of Cebeque made Graham shiver. Psychic Pokemon and Ghost Pokemon didn't co-exist well; Graham was fortunate because he was part-Normal, but he sometimes pondered why a Jynx would so openly have Ghost Pokemon work under her and then verbally abuse them. He also wondered why a Jynx would so openly allow her Smoochum to be around potential dangers like Ghost Pokemon. Perhaps, though, she had the skills to keep the ghosts in line. She certainly had the voice for it.

The passionate fire in Sophia's turquoise eyes burned again. "We appreciate your help, Cebeque," Sophia thanked with a bow. "We'll be off now."

"Oh, it was nothing. Just don't go attacking any more of my co-workers. If my mistress found out, you'd be dead for sure." Sophia grabbed Graham's arm and yanked him down the hall. Cebeque returned to what she was doing, silently hoping she hadn't said too much...

* * *

"Sophia, where are you taking us?" Graham's main head angrily demanded.

"Blimey, captain, is that a Wailord?" Graham's tail snarled.

"You'd better not be taking us where I think you're taking us, Sophia!"

"Of course I'm taking you where you think I'm taking you," Sophia snapped, rolling her eyes as they hustled through the castle. "You're a Psychic Pokemon! I'm surprised you haven't read my mind and seen the future already!"

"Not all Psychic Pokemon can do that, you should know that! I can't see the future! Ask a Xatu to do that!"

"Fine, maybe I will once I find him!"

Sophia abruptly halted at the grandest set of doors the castle had to offer. They were constructed of opaque red ice, the edges lined with engravings of Snorunts marching in a line through a blizzard. The two shining doorknobs were shaped like Glalies. As if to complete the line, icy pillars on either side of the doors were sculpted into Froslass. Surely, Sophia thought, these doors once marked the home of a Glalie king. But now they marked the living chambers of something else, something more humanoid...

"Well, I have to admit, my tail and I didn't expect we'd come _here_..." Graham mumbled in defeat, looking at the forbidding doors with hesitation. "Sophia, maybe this isn't the best idea."

"I know, it probably isn't. But... But the best idea may be more trouble than either of us can handle, so this is plan B. Hopefully it won't be as difficult as plan A, but be ready for anything. Keep those Psychic powers handy."

Graham looked at Sophia for some sign to prove she was still sane. "You aren't going to do anything rash, are you?"

Sophia laughed nervously. "No, but the person behind these doors might. Are you ready?"

Graham calmed his mind and freshened up his mental powers. "...Okay. I'm ready."

"Eureka," nodded his tail anxiously.

Sophia took a deep breath and hesitantly tapped on the door lightly. They waited, but nothing happened. "Ooooooh boy..." she mumbled to herself. She tried again, knocking a bit harder. Her knock echoed throughout the corridor, bouncing off the ice in every direction. Both of the teenagers suddenly felt a sense of regret--even Sophia, who began to wish that maybe she hadn't touched the ominous door...

The icy door swung open gracefully, and within seconds Graham and Sophia were lifted into the air and swept inside by Psychic energy. They arrived in a place more intimidating than they could have imagined. It was an elegantly furnished bedroom made almost entirely out of ice. The lonely king-size bed, the dressers and wardrobes, even the dim lamps were made out of the same frozen water that constructed the entire castle. The only things that weren't built of ice were the expensive-looking store-bought make-ups and perfumes, the fabrics that made up the blankets and curtains and rug, and a few other dismal items. But the room they had flown into was surely the coldest chamber in the entire castle, both in temperature and in mood. There hardly existed a single happy thought or item in the place. And the coldest, quietest, most intimidating object of all towered in front of a spacious window, back ignorantly turned to the two teenagers.

Lady Valkyrie did not turn from the window when she addressed her bedroom guests. "Good afternoon, honored guests," she coldly acknowledged. "How may I help you?" If Graham or Sophia could have seen her face they would not have seen the slightest hint of a microscopic smile. She seemed to radiate cold; the ice around her was frostier and foggier than the rest of the castle. Graham felt as if he, too, were as frozen as the Ice Queen, and he was unable to utter a single word. His tail hid behind him and trembled in fear. Sophia trembled just as much, her shivers caused by something other than the room's temperature. Maybe this wasn't as good of an idea as she had originally thought. "Hello? How may I help you?" Lady Valkyrie repeated loudly. "For what reason have you disturbed my solitude?"

Sophia decided it was best not to get her any angrier. "W-Well," she weakly stuttered, "I-I was wanting to ask you about C-Clarice the Xatu..."

"Oh, I see. And I suppose you thought it would be a good idea to ask me instead of somebody else? I'm busy!"

"N-No, ma'am. We already asked a few people, and I thought nobody could give us any more information than you could about Clarice--"

"_Clarice_? Who is this _Clarice_ you keep talking about? Surely, girl, you don't expect _me_ to know anything about one of your friends from wherever it is you come from."

"Y-You d-don't remember him?"

"Ms. Flarison, I don't just remember him, I don't _know_ him! Kay en oh double-you! I've never heard of him in my life!"

Sophia shuffled uncomfortably, looking at Graham for support. "But, we were told you i-invited--"

"_Listen_, little girl," Lady Valkyrie interrupted, twirling around and looking Sophia directly in the eyes with a dark, icy stare. "I'd like to know where you got your facts from. You'd better not have been questioning my staff, they have a lot of things to do today. Because if you were, I'll--"

Sophia waved her hands desperately. "No, n--"

"Don't you interrupt me!" the governess scolded. "If you were bothering my staff I'll make you wish you never came out west!"

"My lady, we didn't question your staff! We just... We were only... Look, we were just having a conversation with a Glaceon in a tavern the other day, and the whereabouts of this Xatu guy came up! And, well, I got really curious and... Well, my lady, I was really wondering where Clarice went."

Lady Valkyrie's eyes grew wider than saucers. "Did I hear you correctly? You... You wanted to know where he went?" Sophia nodded carefully. The Jynx looked at Graham. "_Where_ he went?" Both of Graham's heads nodded. "I... I see. Okay... I might be able to help you..." Lady Valkyrie trailed off thoughtfully. She calmed down and rose a dark blue gloved hand to her enormous, frosty red lips. "Why do you want to know where he is? Do you know him?"

Sophia looked at the floor embarrasedly. She felt trapped. "Well, no, but... Well, it's just been bothering me, and..."

Lady Valkyrie raised an eyebrow. "Well young lady, I don't like the sound of little girls meddling into other people's affairs." She approached Sophia and Graham, hands clasped behind her back. Graham could feel the temperature drop a few degrees. "I can't believe such an Eevee tramp let you bother yourself with being so nosy. Maybe I should send somebody to have a word with him about gossiping about other people. Which tavern does he work at?" Lady Valkyrie stopped in front of the children and beamed at them. To them it was worse than loitering next to an open freezer. The coldness emitting from the Jynx stung their faces, as well as Graham's mind. He felt as if the wrong answer could be a very disastrous thing. Knowing Lady Valkyrie's temper, Glace's life very well may have been on the line.

Fortunately for the Glaceon waiter, Sophia spoke up as soon as she adjusted to the cold. "I don't know where he works. We just had lunch together. I'm sure he didn't expect me to look into the idea. Please forgive him." She did not realize at this moment how important it was to forgive.

"Well..." Lady Valkyrie thought hard for a moment. "...Fine. I see no reason to bother sending one of my handmaidens anyway. Though now that I think of it... Clarice... Maybe I _do_ know who you're talking about... Ah, yes! Clarice Voyalatl, the Xatu from Peru?"

"Yes, that's the one!"

"I'm sorry, my memory isn't what it used to be. I suppose I could tell you two a few things about Clarice..." The governess turned away from the children briefly, and facing them again she sat herself down on the edge of her icy bed. With the flick of her hand, Graham and Sophia were lightly whirled onto two nearby chairs. "It's-a Me! Bowser!" thanked his tail. Graham quickly translated.

"Well, there isn't much to say," the Ice Queen sighed. "I'm afraid the two of you will be thoroughly disappointed. I invited Clarice to my castle a while back; he was an old colleague of mine back while I was studying law at Yale, over on the east coast. Clarice was in the neighborhood, staying in one of the rooms at the _Hotel d'Amour de Lippoutou_. I saw him one day while I was in town, and invited him to take up a room in my castle while he was in town. Then one day he simply left. He simply teleported away; I'm not exactly sure why, but that's what happened. Quite frankly, he wasn't the best of guests. I'm sure we'd have been all happy to see him leave." Because she hadn't known Sophia for long Lady Valkyrie didn't notice, but Graham could see the warm flames of intrigue lit once again in Sophia's eyes. "There, are you happy now?"

Sophia nodded thankfully. "Yes, sorry to have bothered you, my lady. I should have known it was nothing."

The Jynx made a weak smile. "Good to have cleared your mind. Be sure to tell your father to boost the work effort on finding my daughter; I'm growing impatient. You may leave now." The two teenagers hadn't even enough time to thank Lady Valkyrie before she waved her hand and thrust them out of her room, swinging the doors shut behind them.

As soon as they were in a different hall, Graham demanded, "Alright, Sophia. What is it this time?"

Sophia yawned and stretched her limbs and tail. "Graham, I feel tired. Let's go back to the hotel. I'll call Dad and let him know we're leaving." She smiled slyly and did not say any more.

* * *

**A Note from the Author:** Hm, something's up! Please write me a review if you read this chapter; I'd really appreciate it.


	6. A Deepening Mystery

**Author's Note:** Happy Thanksgiving, fellow US citizens! I was in Chicago, so I couldn't post this until I got back... The later half of this chapter may be a bit weak, so if you think it is I apologize ahead of time. Please don't forget to review!

* * *

**Chapter 6: A Deepening Mystery**

Of course, Graham was easily able to predict Sophia's actions. She was not the one to give up easily, and her burning intrigue had no intentions of resting in their suite. As soon as they walked into the warm hotel, Sophia marched right up to the clerk's counter. The Hotel Clerk was a Typhlosion dressed in a spiffy-looking suit. He wore a fire-proof bowler hat and had a well-trimmed mustache. His eyes were partially closed and his head was raised in a way that together gave him a very respectable look. It was a good idea, too, due to the bad reputation of the Cyndaquil family as typically being sneaky and untrustworthy. Graham recalled that in the human world weasels, which looked and behaved very similar, had a similar reputation.

The Typhlosion beamed at Sophia in such a manner as she approached him. "Good evening, madamoiselle, how may I help you?" he pleasantly welcomed.

"Hello, I was wondering if you could tell me what room a Mr. Voyalatl is staying in? He's sent me to check up on his room, and I need the key." Sophia had such an innocent and believable act going on, Graham had to facepalm both of his heads. Anybody who knew Sophia could tell the tone of voice she used--a sweet, innocent, girly voice--was a fake. But for the second time that day, the person didn't know Sophia and gladly gave her the keys she wanted, along with the room number. "Score!" she cheered as soon as they were out of earshot from the Typhlosion. "He didn't even see it coming! Now we can get a good look at what this Clarice fellow's been up to!"

"You mean you've got that feeling too?"

"If you mean the feeling that Clarice was up to no good, I definitely have got it!" They turned the corner and walked down the hallway where Clarice's room was supposed to be. "Clarice probably never used his key, he probably teleported into his room whenever he wanted in," she thought aloud to herself.

"In that case, he very well might be there right now. We should be careful."

"Definitely." They arrived at the correct door, and Sophia slipped the card key in and out of the lock. The door opened easily, and the two hustled in before anybody saw them. Both of them were surprised at what they saw.

It looked almost as if a struggle had taken place. Papers were lying all over the floor, a plant was knocked over, and the TV had a hole in it. A cold breeze blew in through an open window. "Drat, I thought we had escaped the cold," Graham muttered while his tail's sharp teeth chattered. "I wonder what happened here?" He stood by the door while Sophia rummaged around the place. She opened drawers, checked out the fridge, investigated the bathroom, only to find them all empty. Not even a green feather could be found. "Gee, if it werent for all these papers it seems as if he was never here."

"Nonsense," Sophia grumbled. "He was here and I can smell it. I know a South American bird when I smell one. If you were looking with me you'd see the signs. There was bird droppings on the edges of the toilet, carateen dust is everywhere, probably because he was growing new feathers... And most importantly, most of these papers are in some Romance language I can't understand. Probably Spanish or Portuguese. Must have been his native language. Here, look, there's a whole paper written in the silly language." Sophia handed Graham a paper before getting back to her search.

"Gee, it looks like he was scribbling stuff down in an awful hurry..."

"No, I'll bet ya it's his plain ordinary handwriting. They don't call bad handwriting Combusken Scratch for nothing; almost all birds except maybe Noctowls have that terrible lettering. Ah HAH! Look what we have here!" Sophia pulled out a pocket PC from beneath some papers. "This may be very interesting..." With her pointy claws she hurriedly hit the On button. The pocket PC booted up, but the results were depressing. "Aw man, the memory's wiped!" the salamander cried. But then she noticed something. "Wait, hold up... Aha, looks like I found his travel plans... What the...?" A look of confusion came across her face. "Graham, look at this." She motioned for her hoofed companion to come to her.

"What is it?"

"Look at his travel plans... He was planning on leaving...well, never! It seems here he planned on living here for the rest of his life!"

"Why do you suppose that was?" Graham wondered aloud as he turned around so that his tail could take a look.

"I don't know, but things are starting to piece themselves together... Look, all these papers involve diagrams and illustrations... Considering his species, I'll bet he was looking into the future."

"Do you suppose that's why Lady Valkyrie invited him? Perhaps she wanted to learn her future?"

"That's pretty darn likely... But how does that work out? Why'd he leave so soon?"

"I don't know, and I'm starting to wish I never find out."

"Why is that?" Sophia asked with a look of confusion toward Graham's main head.

"Well, remember what Lady Valkyrie said? I think it's pretty obvious she doesn't want us looking into this stuff. She wants us to quit being nosy. And quite frankly, I don't want to break her trust. She seems mighty dangerous." Of course, he had no idea how dangerous Lady Valkyrie truly was, but perhaps it was better that way.

"Well we've gotten this far, haven't we? All we have to do is keep Lady Valkyrie from finding out. That shouldn't be too hard, right?"

"Only if she's the kind of Psychic Pokemon that doesn't read minds," Graham reminded her, slightly alluding to their conversation back at the castle.

"I'm pretty sure Jynx can't do that."

"Positive?"

"Well, no, but..." Sophia sighed and clasped her maroon hands on top of her lap. "I've looked up techniques many times, and I'm pretty sure Jynx doesn't learn any mind reading moves. And I'm also pretty sure there aren't any tutorial CD's out there that can teach a Pokemon how." By tutorial CD's, Graham reasoned Sophia was referring to the devices called "technical machines" or "TMs" that in the Pokemon games taught Pokemon moves they couldn't learn on their own. Not all TMs worked on all Pokemon, with the exception of Mew who could learn any TM skill. There were also "hidden machines" or "HMs" that could teach a Pokemon survival skills that they could never forget afterwards. This was the first time he had heard somebody in this world of humanoid Pokemon living amongst normal Pokemon mention a TM before, so it wasn't unreasonable that he ran these facts over in his head. He had been under the impression that in the end they were just a game device, but now he was yet again reminded that he was after all in the Realm of Video Games and should have expected such.

"Then maybe we have a chance," he submitted, scratching his main head in thought. "If Lady Valkyrie can't read our minds, then we can keep our work a secret. I hope."

* * *

"Eurasia is made up of what two continents?" Graham's tail sleepily yawned as the he and Sophia returned to their suite. Sophia looked at Graham's main head questioningly.

"He's wondering what happens next," Graham's main head translated with a yawn. "Quite frankly, I do too."

"Well... I don't exactly know," Sophia admitted. She was just as tired as Graham was, what with all their snooping around that day. Her tail flame burned a low flame; not an unhealthy one, but a very exhausted one. She went over what she had learned in her head, but it didn't help. Everything was connected, she just knew it; but something didn't make sense, something didn't fit. She snorted in frustration, smoke bursting from her nostrils. She knew the facts, but they didn't make sense. One of those facts, she decided, therefore must be false. But which one, and how many? _It could be any single fact_, she mentally snarled. Even in her mind she was sounding like a Charizard a little bit more every day. Or so her father told her, anyway. Sophia decided to go over the facts again.

Once upon a time Lady Valkyrie was a moderately temperamental sovereign of this region of the Rocky Mountains. Then one day eighteen years ago a Regice appeared at her side, bound to her every word. She turned moody and cold shortly afterwards. And then she had a baby with a Mr. Mime who two years later ran away and never came back. Understandably, Lady Valkyrie snapped, but she became extremely cross and very cruel. The Regice was placed in charge of guarding Catherine, who seemed very capable of protecting herself. Catherine never smiled in the presence of her mother, as if for some reason she detested her. Later, in the near-present, a vulgar Xatu shows up from South America. Assuming Sophia and Graham were right, this "Clarice Voyalatl" was summoned by the Ice Queen to tell her what her future held in store. He moved into the castle, and seemed to plan on staying there permemently. But then he vanished, as did Lady Valkyrie's daughter Catherine shortly after. Lady Valkyrie became intent on finding her daughter, but readily and sincerely denies Clarice's involvement in the affair. All the same, Clarice's room has become off-limits, and Lady Valkyrie refused any meddling in his business despite believing he was gone. Dr. Flarison was called to investigate the disappearance, which was labelled as a kidnapping, presumably either by a Ghost Pokemon or by a Pokemon capable of teleporting. Shortly after Dr. Flarison's arrival, a mysterious Crobat began attacking the doctor and his company.

Those were the facts, but which one or which ones were false? Sophia just couldn't make it out. Something didn't match up, she knew it, but whenever she went over the facts they themselves seemed unconnected and made perfect sense.

They arrived at their suite and promptly prepared for bed. Danny and Dr. Flarison hadn't returned yet, but Graham and Sophia took little notice. They were very tired, even though it was only 7:00pm. As they shut out their lights, Sophia finally found an answer to Graham's tail's question. With a burning sigh she explained, "Next we have to find out more about Goliath, I suppose. Maybe ask around about that Crobat." She had no idea Graham knew the identity of the Crobat, but it didn't make things much easier anyway.

As she buried her sharp-toed feet under the covers and swished aside her burning tail, she pondered over what to do. As she scratched a slick, scaly arm that was irritating her she thought about what to do once her mission was done. And as she rested her crested head on the pillow, her intrigue and curiosity burned ever brighter. She had to get to the bottom of the mystery, she just had to. Amid her thoughts, Sophia ever so slowly drifted off to sleep. Her dreams were troubling and she slept in discomfort the entire night. Little did she know that a shady bat peered at her through the suite window, or that the answer to all her troubles was locked away in a single, mysterious room.

* * *

Graham waited for Sophia to fall asleep. He lay on top of his bed covers, hands clasped underneath his main head and legs slightly crossed at the foot. His tail rested its head on the covers, laying to the side of Graham's thighs. It was drifting in and out of sleep, understanding that it would have to be the first head to sleep that night. Despite the confusing banter he spewed out, Graham's tail was very understanding of his main head's needs and though neither of them truly communicated mentally they both had a sense of each other's mood and thoughts. This was the reason for why Graham's main head could translate his tail without understanding him, and this was the reason for why Graham's tail could cooperate with his main head as if they had one single brain between the two of them. He started nodding, so quietly he turned to his main head and whispered a "land ho" before falling asleep.

Soon Graham could hear a girl's voice in his head. He mentally gave her a request, which she agreed to quickly. She sent her mind into Graham's tail, not taking it over but communicating through it as its true mind slept. Arriving in the dormant mind of his tail, she opened her eyes and looked around. Though the room was dark, Cathy found it reassuring to see the suite for herself. She looked at Graham's main head and the two began to talk--mentally, of course.

"_So Graham, what is it you so wanted to talk to me about?_" she calmly asked.

"_Cathy, I hate to quit bringing this up, but I've got the strangest feeling you're hiding something of utter importance from me._"

"_I'd...rather not talk about it. I..._"

"_What is it? Why is it that you must always refuse to answer?_" Graham demanded.

"_I... I'm scared... Something terrible has happened..._"

"_What happened?_"

"_I'm not ready to talk about it... Please, let's talk about something else!_"

"_Alright, fine._" Though he was hoping he wouldn't have to push the fact, he thought that having Cathy in his tail's mind meant that he could somehow trap her there. It would be temporary, but it was the reason for his request that she communicate through his sharp-toothed companion. But for now, he decided to bring up a different subject. "_Cathy, I know you asked me not to tell anybody about you, but there's somebody who really must know._" He pointed at the bed to the side of his. In it slept a Charmeleon troubled in her sleep. "_She's my best friend, and she and I are trying to solve a mystery that I'm sure is in some way connected to you. I feel obliged to let her know about you, so that we at least have another lead to go on. We're stuck, and we need help. I can't tell her anything you told me without telling her about you first._"

Cathy gulped and looked at Sophia. In a way, she knew Graham was right and that he really hoped he could; after all, why else would he have asked her to communicate through his own tail? Without eyes she wouldn't be able to know who or what she'd be revealed to. "_Well..._"

* * *

The following morning was dull and grey. An ill wind blew in the air, whispering of troubles that lay not too far away but that nobody could possibly imagine save for a little girl and a terrifying foreigner. Graham and Sophia were left to do whatever they pleased after breakfast. As soon as they were ready, they put their coats on and left for the Dancer's Castle. As they walked the streets of the icy village everything was quiet. They too were quiet, and nobody spoke a word on the entire trip. Both of them were tending to their problems; Sophia to the mysteries of Clarice Voyalatl, Graham to Cathy's mysterious identity. They didn't know that their thoughts crossed paths multiple times, and maybe if they had they would have reached the chilling truth sooner. And even sooner, if Cathy had made a better decision that night. Graham had absent-mindedly forgotten about trapping her, and Cathy had decided that she'd let him know later whether or not he could tell Sophia about her.

As they crossed under the Great Arch, a Jackson Hole-esque arch made of Stantler antlers, and into the Dancer's Castle, Sophia finally spoke up. "Alright, the first thing to do is to find and question Goliath. Any ideas on where he could be?"

Graham scratched his main head for a moment, and then nodded. "Yes, didn't Lady Valkyrie say he was in that empty room from our first night?"

"Yes, that's it! Come on, let's go check it out!"

They quickly moved towards Goliath's room. They did not realize how close to danger they had been, or that a shadow watched their every move. But as they left that arch, a figure climbed down from on top of it. He took the long cigar out of his mouth and scratched his chin. In a thick German accent, he mumbled aloud, "Hm, I wonder what those kids are up to, asking Goliath... Better follow them..." He put the cigar back in his mouth and took to the air.

* * *

Sophia was the first to reach Goliath's room. It was just as hard to open as it had been the first time, to her dismay. Strength typically took some power, so she couldn't use it often. Graham noted as she used it that Strength was in the games an HM, so they must exist in this world somehow.

Inside slept the great golem of ice. Hebrew legends told of four golems of immense power. There was a stone golem, an ice golem, a steel golem, and a golem that ruled over the remaining three. Their names were Regirock, Regice, Registeel, and Regigigas respectively. These beings were only accepted by some of the scientific communities--not all--and Regigigas was known only as an old myth told only in Sinnoh. Lady Valkyrie had to have had some amazing luck to come across Regice. Or, Sophia suspected, she must have had an amazing trick up her sleeve. "Goliath," she announced loudly, "we've come to ask you some questions!"

Goliath towered above their heads, dormant in slumber. It didn't make a single budge at Sophia's announcement. Graham felt insignificant, in a way. Legends didn't care to bother with him or Sophia. "Sophia," he said with a hint of annoyance, "why not wave your tail near it? It's an Ice Pokemon, surely the fire should wake it up." She nodded and did as he suggested. The flickering flames on her tail flew by Goliath's base with expert precision. Not a single spark touched its surface, but Goliath surely felt the full effect. All the same, Sophia saw no change in Goliath's position or condition. "This is a bit frustrating," she pouted, stamping her foot on the floor.

At right about that moment, however, Graham flung his hands to his ears and cried out in pain. He fell to his knees on the icy floor, clutching his ears as if somebody had turned the volume up to some ungodly level on a stereo system. His tail, having no visible ears but also having no hands, whined and barked in vulnerability and pain. "What is it!?" Sophia gasped in morbid surprise. "Graham, what's wrong!?"

"Goliath!" Graham yelled. "It's Goliath, it's emitting something from his mind!" Graham couldn't mouth out any words and just fell into screaming. His ears physically were under no pain at all, but Graham felt as if they and the rest of his body were burning. There was a screeching, terribly high pitched dissonance mentally radiating from Goliath's body. And through it, he heard it talking.

"_...LEAVE HER BE, BROTHERS! DO NOT HARM MY MISTRESS! LET ME HAVE NO PART IN YOUR TERRIBLE WAYS! LEAVE THE GIRL AND THE BIRD ALONE!_"

Graham could just pick up two other voices. One was low and rumbling, and one sounded like some sort of demon. "_DO NOT DENY US! THEY MUST BE DELETED!_" said the demon.

"_DO AS HE SAYS, YOU CANNOT RESIST US!_" said the rumbling one.

"_NEVER! SHE SAVED ME, AND I SHALL FOREVER RESIST!_" insisted Goliath.

Amid this, Sophia, whose mind would be in quiet if it weren't for Graham's two heads screaming bloody murder, decided she had to do something. In a lapse of adrenaline, she took a fist and pounded it on Goliath's icy body. "You monster!" she roared. "Leave him alone!" There was a sound sort of like a ding, and the many eyes of the Regice lit up. The burning in Graham's ears silenced, and all was calm once again. Sophia ran to Graham to provide him something to support himself on. "Graham, are you alright?"

"Merry...Christmas...one and all," Graham's tail weakly moaned.

"Yeah, Sophia... I'm fine," Graham's main head groaned. He turned his head up towards Goliath. "But I think I caught something pretty important."

Goliath now moved, looking around and then down towards the children. "WHAT...HAPPEN...?" he asked with concern. Graham was pretty sure he was a "he." "WHY YOU LOOK HURT?"

"Goliath!" Graham demanded. "You know where Catherine and Clarice are hidden!"


	7. Articuno and Lady Valkyrie

**Author's Note:** Not exactly a fan of the first segment of this chapter, I'm not the best at writing Goliath's dialogue. But the other segments are in my opinion a work of art. I really enjoyed writing the final segment, it even made _me_ feel a bit emotional. Enjoy your read, and remember that reviews are greatly appreciated!

* * *

**Chapter 7: Articuno and Lady Valkyrie**

"WHY...YOU...SAY...?" Goliath asked in shock.

"What did you say, Graham?" Sophia gasped in astonishment.

"Goliath, I heard the conversation you had with those two voices. They seem to know something about the princess and Clarice the Xatu, and you certainly sounded like you knew where they were!" Graham explained sternly. His four eyes didn't move from Goliath's. "I want to know what you're hiding."

"I...HAVE...TO...GO... MISTRESS...EXPECTING...ME..."

"Oh no you don't!" Sophia growled. She speedily used Flamethrower and blocked the doorway with a wall of fire. "You're staying right here!"

"PLEASE... I...KNOW...NOTHING..."

"I'm pretty sure you know something!" insisted Graham. "Now tell us! Your secret's out!"

"NOTHING...ABOUT...CLARICE... CLARICE...NOT...BIRD..."

"Wait, what?"

"Goliath, I think you have some explaining to do," Sophia ordered. "Just who _are_ you?" And so began the tale of Goliath.

"LONG AGO... MISTRESS FIND ME... IN RUSSIA... MISTRESS FIND ME... SHE LOOKING FOR MASTER... MASTER HIDE IN MY CAVE... MISTRESS COMES... SHE ANGRY AT MASTER... SHE FREEZE HIM FOR LONG TIME... I WAS...VERY...LONELY... I...HAVE...NO...FRIEND... BROTHERS...FAR...AWAY..."

"I think he means the other golems," Sophia muttered into Graham's ear.

"MISTRESS TALK OF LEAVING... I...DIDN'T WANT HER...TO GO... I COME TO HER...AND TRY TO KEEP HER... SHE BECAME TERRIFIED AND... SHE USED PSYCHIC POWERS... A CHAIN... A CHAIN IN MY MIND..."

"What about the chain?"

"A CHAIN IN MY MIND... A CHAIN IN MY MIND..."

Sophia felt she knew what he meant. "She took control of your mind?"

"NO... MISTRESS HELP... SHE BREAK CHAIN... A CHAIN IN MY MIND... I BECAME FREE... FREE FROM BROTHERS... FREE FROM MASTER BROTHER..."

"Regigigas, maybe?" Graham muttered.

"BROTHER ROCK... HE MAD, SO MAD... HE WISHED FOR ME TO BE LIKE HIM... I WORRIED HE COME TO SMASH ME..." Graham and Sophia nodded, acknowledging "Brother Rock" to be Regirock. Rock Pokemon were strong against Ice Pokemon. "I TELL MISTRESS... SHE NOT FRIGHTENED ANYMORE... SHE HAPPY... SHE TOLD ME IF I PROTECTED HER... SHE WOULD PROTECT ME... SHE WOULD TAKE ME TO AMERICA... TO THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS... AND I REFUSED..."

"Why was that?" asked Sophia.

"BROTHER LIVE HERE... HERE IN ROCKY MOUNTAINS... BROTHER STEEL..."

Graham and Sophia's eyes widened. They looked at each other. "Brother Steel" certainly had to be Registeel. They had no idea Registeel was in North America. It had been widely accepted that the golems were restricted to the Eastern Hemisphere.

"I WAS AFRAID HE SMASH ME TOO... I TELL MISTRESS... SHE TOLD ME BROTHER STEEL WON'T HURT ME... BROTHER STEEL FIND FRIEND WHO BROKE HIS CHAIN... I AGREED TO GO TO AMERICA WITH MISTRESS... BROTHER ROCK AND MASTER BROTHER STILL DO NOT KNOW I AM HERE..."

"So is that why you're here? To search for your brother?" Sophia asked softly.

"NOT ANYMORE... MISTRESS... WHEN MY BACK WAS TURNED... SHE WEAKENED ME... SHE CAPTURED ME... I AM HER'S NOW... AND SHE IS MY MISTRESS..." Graham and Sophia looked at each other again. Like in the games, there were Pokeballs in the World of Pokemon. The Pokemon were divided into two shapes: humanoid, and natural. The natural ones were just as capable of being caught in Pokeballs as they were in the games.

"But Goliath, where are Catherine and Clarice?"

"CLARICE...IS...NO...LONGER...HERE... CLARICE...IS...NO...LONGER..." Goliath droned on in a flat tone, as if that was all he could say.

"We know that, that's why we want to know where he is."

"CLARICE...IS...NO...LONGER...HERE... CLARICE...IS...NO...LONGER...HERE..." A chill started coming up Graham's spine. Things were starting to get spooky... "CLARICE...IS...NO...LONGER...HERE... CLARICE...IS...NO...LONGER...HERE... CLARICE...IS...N--"

"But do you know where he is now?"

"CLARICE...IS...NO...LONGER...HERE... THE HANDMAIDENS KNOW... THE HANDMAIDENS ARE... CLARICE...IS...NO...LONGER...HERE... ASK...MISTRESS..."

"Wait, Sophia," Graham interrupted. "I think Goliath doesn't know where Clarice is. He said Clarice wasn't the bird he was talking about. Goliath!" Graham cleared his main throat and looked at the golem square in the eyes. "What bird were you talking about?"

"THE GREAT ICE PHOENIX... I SPOKE OF THE MISTRESS' MASTER... THE GREAT ICE PHOENIX..."

"An Articuno?" Sophia offered. "Is that what you're talking about?"

"YES... ARTICUNO... MASTER OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS..."

"Geez, we just get more and more Legendary Pokemon out of this guy..." the Charmeleon quietly remarked to herself.

"ONE DAY... MISTRESS WAS BLESSED BY LITTE MISTRESS... ON THAT DAY...SHE WAS VISITED... VISITED BY DESTINY... THIS WAS HER SECOND VISIT... ARTICUNO CAME TO HER BEFORE... WHENEVER SHE SAW IT SHE GREW TERRIFIED... TERRIFIED...AND DESPERATE..."

"Just how desperate?" Graham asked. Sophia could guess where this was going.

"SHE FEARED DESTINY. SHE TRIED TO AVOID IT MANY WAYS."

"Goliath?" Sophia interrogated. "Was Clarice one of these 'ways?'"

"YES... CLARICE SAW DESTINY... THEN...CLARICE LEFT... CLARICE...IS...NO...LONGER...HERE... CLARICE...IS...NO...LONGER...HERE... ASK...MISTRESS..." Goliath suddenly stopped droning. He looked down at Graham and Sophia quietly and did not say a word. Graham felt his mental aura whirling. Thinking and thinking. "I...DO...NOT...KNOW...WHERE...LITTLE MISTRESS...IS..." he said at last. "BUT EVEN IN HER ABSENCE...I WILL PROTECT...BOTH MISTRESSES... DO NOT ASK ME...ANYMORE... FOR THE SAKE...OF THE MISTRESS... CLARICE...IS...NO...LONGER...HERE..." Then Goliath looked away from the children and left to tend to his mistress' needs.

Sophia looked at Graham's face with a mix of horror and understanding. Even through her scales her face was pale. She shifted uncomfortably before speaking. "Graham," she nervously whispered, not knowing whether to give a warm smile or a cold frown, "I think I understand the mystery of Clarice now..." Graham wasn't exactly sure he was thinking the same thing as she was, but things were starting to make sense to him too. "Graham, I think that Goliath was telling us exactly what we asked when we asked for where Clarice was. I think that Clarice isn't here any longer."

"And that means...?" Graham could feel both his faces turning pale too. It felt like the room was getting just a few degrees colder.

"I think that Clarice...is dead." Graham lowered his head and didn't say a word.

* * *

A snowstorm raged outside. It howled throughout the region of the Rocky Mountains like a buzzsaw cutting through wood. The wind and snow pounded and shook the Dancer's Castle. A ways down the mountain, a zepplin struggled through the powerful storm towards a secluded cliff. It was on the other side of the mountain, blocked out of view from Dancer's Castle. Nobody from the village or castle could have seen it, and in the storm they probably couldn't hear it either. Fortunately, the mountain blocked out enough of the storm that the dirigible was able to land at the edge of the cliff.

On the cliff was a small manor, the home of a Mr. James Edgar Luggs. Mr. Luggs was a Lickylicky who frequented the taverns in town, but who prefered to live away from the troubles of urban areas. And of course, he prefered to live away from Lady Valkyrie. Mr. Luggs ate a lot, and so did his late wife and his four dead Lickitung children. In fact, his family had a history of pigging out on almost anything. They were good friends of the Swalot family in town, but of late they had not been in touch. Mr. Luggs was fortunate that he lived a good ways away from society, because it kept people from asking questions. Nobody other than the Swalot family had met his deceased family, and he liked it that way. Of course, he stopped meeting with the Swalots as soon as little Timmy died. He didn't want them to see things they shouldn't see. He didn't want them to know his secrets.

Mr. Luggs seldom braved the harsh Northwest United States weather for anything but a good meal. Nobody braved the harsh Northwest United States weather to visit him (in fact, almost nobody remembered him as anything but the only Lickylicky in the county), so he considered the small cliff a priviledged spot for pompous people such as himself. Mr. Luggs was rich, greedy, and a proud capitalist. To him, money talked louder than the snivelling, antisocial geek he called "idealism." And therefore, nobody would be permitted on his property unless they were wealthy like himself. Any poor villager that touched his cliff would get a big Rollout they'd regret. A sign hung over his front door read, "Pompous and Proud."

The corpulent glutton hobbled out of his doorstep. Shielding his small pink head from the snow, he mumbled, "Oh, if only I had a dollar for every snow flake! Then I could buy out Santa's Workshop!" Mr. Luggs had a German accent not unlike the Burger Meister Meister Burger from a certain Christmas Special he had seen as a child. Mr. Luggs had grown up a German-American, immigrating to the US from East Germany when he was only three years old. His German accent was thick, not unlike a smoking associate of his. Mr. Luggs stuck out his massive, enormous tongue and wiped the snow off his mailbox. "I wish my mailbox accepted checks! Then I would pay it to keep clean!"

Mr. Luggs wobbled away from his house and towards the zepplin that had parked itself at the edge of his desolate property. A ramp lowered itself from the zepplin's cabin. Mr. Luggs stood expectantly before it. "Time is money, Mr. Guin," he called. "Hurry up! I'm getting hungry!" Mr. Luggs took his pocket watch out of his suit and impatiently looked at it. Four penguin-like Prinplups waddled down the ramp and stood at its sides in military fashion. "Ah, it's about time!" Mr. Luggs smiled in satisfaction. "Do you have the girl?"

Down from the ramp waddled a large, regal-looking Empoleon. It was dressed in a suit much like Mr. Luggs', but it wore a top hat too. It was none other than Mr. Penn Arctica Guin, one of Mr. Luggs' business associates. Long time business partner or Mr. Luggs, Mr. Guin was an East Coast businessman whose source of money was as crooked as Mr. Luggs'. He was much more patient than his Lickylicky cohort, and took his time doing things. He typically had his Prinplup goons do his work for him, whether it was above or below the law. Like their third business partner, Mr. Pire, Mr. Guin smoked. Mr. Pire was a fan of cigars, but Mr. Guin preferred cigarettes held at the tip of a fashionable cigarette holder. Mr. Luggs thought sometimes that Mr. Guin watched too much Golbatman when he was younger, but never said so. "Good day, Mr. Luggs," cackled Mr. Guin. "I have the girl, just as we needed."

Mr. Guin's wing clutched the hand of a small, well-dressed girl. She did not smile or speak, but her purple face was pale and scared. She looked up at Mr. Luggs with dark surprise, at once recognizing him as the gluttonous man she saw in all those restaurants. She bit her enormous lips in concern and clutched her purple dress with her free hand. Even in the blustering blizzard she was unfazed, her brilliantly blonde hair seemingly untouched by the snow. Perhaps it didn't touch her hair at all. Perhaps it was just too cold to touch.

"Perfect," Mr. Luggs said with a dark smile. He rolled out his impossibly long tongue and from three yards away licked the girl's face. She winced in pain, making a small squeak. Her limbs locked up, and she found it difficult to move. "Mmm, tasty," the fat man grinned, returning his pink monstrosity back to its drooling home. "Come now, sweetie, don't be frightened. We won't hurt you. Yet." He laughed. She shivered.

"Mr. Luggs," Mr. Guin called. "How is Mr. Pire doing?"

"Just fine. In fact, we've got a little news on Lady Valkyrie. Come, let's walk and talk. I'm freezing.

"Mr. Guin, Mr. Pire has learned something very interesting. You see, he's been spying on two children who have been investigating Catherine's disappearance. They've been working in the wrong angle, fortunately, but nonetheless they have unravelled some information that will make us millions!"

"Some dirt on old lady Valkyrie? Do tell, do tell!" Mr. Guin's Boston accent was slightly annoying to Mr. Luggs, but he tried to ignore it. As he dragged the girl along he used his other hand to open a large umbrella to shield himself from the snow.

"It seems she's been in contact with an Articuno. Can you believe it, my fine feathered friend? There's an Articuno in these parts! And better yet, she's scared. I think she's hiding something."

"Are you suggesting blackmail, you pompus Pokemon? Do you really believe we can pull that off with her? Do tell, do tell!"

"Now hold your horses. Don't forget, the girl's a Psychic Pokemon. Are we sure we're safe from her powers?" Mr. Luggs glanced at the girl nervously. Mr. Guin laughed loudly. The girl he clutched stared up at Mr. Luggs with fragile, broken eyes.

"Don't worry about the girl, Mr. Luggs. She's been taken care of. She won't be moving things with her mind any time soon."

"Why is that?" Mr. Luggs was always suspicious of Psychic types ever since he was investigated by some a while back.

"Because. It's top secret, I don't want anybody overhearing why. But let's just say... She has no more powers." Mr. Guin laughed again in his penguin manner. He puffed some smoke towards the girl's face. "Isn't that right, Catherine?" The girl looked at the snowy ground and cried.

* * *

The blizzard seemed to make the Dancer's Castle even colder; or maybe it was just the mood. Lady Valkyrie strolled the halls of her keep with a nervous look on her face. Frost stuck like footprints wherever she walked. Her handmaidens didn't dare speak to her, for in their hearts they knew exactly what was troubling the Ice Queen. Whenever she passed a window Lady Valkyrie darted her eyes to look outside. When she saw nothing but snow and clouds, she continued walking. Her mind did not ease a single bit. She felt the storm brewing.

In the few days after Catherine vanished, Lady Valkyrie had felt that wherever she was the little girl was safe. This kept her going and kept her strong. Suddenly, since she woke this morning Lady Valkyrie had had the strangest feeling that things were taking a turn for the worse. As a Psychic Pokemon she had a sort of connection with her daughter. She couldn't read minds (she never told anybody), but she still felt like she could sense her daughter was alright. Perhaps in danger, but alright for the time being. But today she did not sense anything of the like. As her powerful brain ventured out into the universe of the mind, she sensed Catherine was no longer safe. Something had happened. Catherine was now in great danger and she still hadn't had the slightest clue where her daughter could be. "It's all that Charizard's fault," she mumbled coldly. "He's not good enough! There must be a trace of the kidnapper, there must be! There has to be!"

In some ways, Lady Valkyrie was more caring than she appeared to be. Though her daughter never gave her a single sign of love, and though the governess seldom showed her's, Lady Valkryie deeply loved Catherine. It had torn her tethered heart when Catherine vanished. "Catherine, how could you do this to me?" she called out a window. "Don't you care about your mother?" It seemed Lady Valkyrie's fate was to be an unfortunate one forever. She never seemed to have a stroke of luck. She feared her misfortune would be the death of her. In any case, her heart was rapidly dying. All whom she loved seemed to vanish. Her parents were killed by a pack of Houndooms. The love of her life ran away from her, leaving her to raise her child alone. Catherine never cared for her. Worse yet, she was now in mortal danger, Lady Valkyrie could sense it. And worst of all, there was Clarice... "No! I must try to forget him!" she growled aloud, turning away from the window in shame. "Our meeting never happened!"

Lady Valkyrie continued her nervous walk. No matter how hard she tried to think of other things, her typically frozen glare darted to every window she passed. She tried to convince herself she was looking for some sign of Catherine. But she knew what she was really looking in desperation for. Or rather, what she was hoping not to see at all.

Sadly, it happened. She was just about ready to sit down in an ice armchair and try to rest her mind when she passed the French doors to the balcony. Through the windowed doors she saw what she dreaded. It perched itself on the edge of her balcony, and she knew it was waiting for her. "Foul bird!" she cried. "It comes to me again!" She flew open the doors and in the raging blizzard she walked out onto her balcony to meet her unwanted guest. "Why must you return?" she worriedly implored.

Perched on the railing of her balcony was a giant blue bird, whose feathers shimmered like ice. Little snow particles seemed to emit from its wings. The bird just seemed to be an embodiment of coldness, more than Lady Valkyrie could ever hope to be. In fact, it was legendary.

"Articuno!" Lady Valkyrie demanded, clutching her fist. "I demand an answer! Why must you return? Why must you haunt me? I demand an answer!" Articuno, the legendary bird of ice, did not reply. It was, after all, only a bird; and birds did not speak English. It simply stared with its frozen eyes at the Russian woman. Lady Valkyrie tried to resist, but nothing in the world could have prevented her from looking into its eyes to see what she saw. A normal person would have seen their reflection as if looking into a clear sheet of ice. But Lady Valkyrie saw more than just her reflection. It was an embodiment of her past, her present, and her future. The reflection quivered as Articuno's pupils darted around. The reflection was unstable in such a movement, and quivered in the raging blizzard. For a moment they stopped, and Lady Valkyrie saw the reflection of a Jynx once again. This time it wasn't just any Jynx. Perhaps if Lady Valkyrie were different she would have interpreted it as her own reflection. But the fleeting, troubled mind of the Ice Queen saw instead her daughter's future. A cold and cruel woman who verbally tortured all those who tried to make her life as good as possible. Seeming as if to regard Lady Valkyrie's interpretation, Articuno chirped. Its eyes darted around once more, and the reflection returned to its unstable form. "No! Why must this continue!?" Lady Valkyrie roared. "Why must a devil such as you torment me this way!?" She rose a fist to launch an Ice Punch at the bird. But she couldn't make herself do it. For one, this was a one-of-a-kind Pokemon. If she injured it her life would probably continue to decay. But she also couldn't do it because again its eyes stopped moving, and she saw the reflections. In one eye she saw the reflection of herself. In the other, her daughter. Lady Valkyrie fell to the icy floor, begging and pleading the bird to leave. Her eyes watered and tears of freezing rain streamed from her face. Her enormous red lips trembled at every moment they could. "Please, I'll do anything! No more! No more!" She clasped her hands and shook them. Her hair was wild, her body shook with every breath. "No more! Please, I beg of you! No more!" Lady Valkyrie grabbed Articuno's talons in humbleness and desperity. "I beg of you!" And then the bird blinked, silencing the two women's reflections forever.


	8. The First Clue

**Author's Note:** I'm sorry that this chapter is short. I felt though that I reached an appropriate ending. I felt almost like I was playing _Phoenix Wright_ while I wrote this, I hope it doesn't sound too much like it.

* * *

**Chapter 8: The First Clue**

"Think about it," Sophia said, still not knowing whether or not it was a good time to smile. "It's the only logical conclusion. That was the lie." She and Graham were on their way out of the castle. They felt as if they were in a frozen tomb, and they wanted to get back to their warm suite.

"What was the lie, again?" Graham exhaustedly asked. His head was still ringing from Goliath.

"We were under the impression that Clarice left without taking his things. The only truth in that story is how nobody saw him leave. The reason he never took his belongings and the reason why he never checked out of the hotel must be that he died. After all, you have to remember that he never planned on leaving at all."

"I want pudding really bad," Graham's tail sighed.

"I suppose that disconnects him from the princess," Graham translated.

Sophia stopped and looked at him. "Are you kidding? The fact that he died only proves the two are connected."

"Oh yeah? Why is that?"

"Think of it, Graham. Think really hard. A few weeks ago, somebody died. I don't know about you, but I feel as if it wasn't his choice. I think somebody killed him. So suppose that's what happened." Sophia put her hand on Graham's shoulder. He felt the warmth radiating from her body and breath. "If somebody killed him, there has to be a killer. Now we know that he was in the Dancer's Castle, and we know that nobody has seen him in the village since he went there. That rules out anybody in the village, and certainly points at somebody in the castle. Now think about it. What if a little girl just happened to witness the killing?"

"Well, she'd be frightened, I guess."

"Exactly. Frightened. And considering the killer didn't proceed to leave the castle, she'd probably be terrified. And what if the killer saw her? Here's what I think, Graham. Either the princess ran away out of terror, or the killer kidnapped her."

"You know, Sophia," Graham remarked, ears raising in realization, "I think you're on to something. Should we go tell your father?"

Sophia's smile vanished. She hadn't thought about that. "Well..." She paced around the room they were in. "I actually don't think he'd believe us. After all, we don't have anything to prove our case but something a Regice told us. We'd need some physical evidence... Oh!" Sophia snapped, the flames of intrigue in her eyes yet again. "I know! Come on, Graham, there's one place we haven't been yet!"

The two friends raced off to find a Froslass that could give them directions.

* * *

The doors to Clarice's room were locked. Sophia found herself using Strength yet again, doing the best she could to keep quiet as she banged the door. "I hope nobody finds out about this," she grunted. "I'd really hate to get on Lady Valkyrie's bad side."

"Don't worry, we'll use Psychic and put the door back together. Just hurry up before somebody sees you!"

The door finally came open and Sophia fell inside. Graham heard a faint scream. "Sophia, I'm coming!" he quietly called as he dashed into the room. He stopped short. "Tail, can you repair the door?" he sharply commanded.

"I love seafood!" his tail whined.

"No, you can check out the room later. Hurry, I need to help Sophia."

"Moose..." his tail relented.

"Sophia, are you alright?" Graham kneeled down to help his comrade stand up.

"Y-Yeah, I'm alright... Just bruised like crazy. I hope I'm okay... T-That's not mine...is it?" She pointed in horror at the red stains on the rug her head hit.

"No. Those are old." Both of them gulped. There were blood stains all over the center area of the room. They all looked as if a week or two had passed since the blood was shed.

"Oh Arceus, I think I'm going to throw up!" Sophia cried, thrusting her hands to her mouth.

"Looks like you were right about Clarice dying... I can still sense the presence of a body in this room..." Even he and his tail started feeling woozy.

"Do we really have to find it?"

"No, I don't think so. But we'll need some sort of proof of his death... Though something tells me somebody in this castle doesn't want us showing it to anybody." Graham's hand pointed at something green with red speckles near the rug. "Look there. I think that's a Xatu's feather. Do you think that's enough proof?"

"Yeah, if we were trying to prove Clarice died. But we aren't. We're trying to prove Catherine saw somebody get murdered." Sophia took a deep breath and stepped around a dried puddle of blood. She had never witnessed such a sight before, and felt very ill. "Hey Graham, can your tail, uh, perhaps track her scent?"

"Broccoli," replied Graham's tail, shaking his head. Many times he was asked that question. He was a bit sensitive about not being able to track smells even though his Psychic powers made him aware of people's presence. It was a bit embarassing, but he tried not to show it. Most of the only time, the only one that could tell was his main head.

Graham sighed and shook his head. "How on Earth does one find the traces of a little ice girl proving her connection to a murder? We'd need our own Xatu, I'll say." He looked about Clarice's room and frowned in disgust. The man was a completly terrible example of his gender. On the frozen walls were pin-up posters of Lopunnies, Gardevoirs, and even one or two Froslasses. He was amazed that there were no bird Pokemon; but then again, what was so "alluring" about bird Pokemon? Papers covered his desk, along with a diary. The papers seemed to regard some Jynx, though they were of course written in his native language. The diary was open. The page it was open to was in Clarice's language as well. Graham still couldn't remember if Peru spoke Spanish or Portuguese. He raised an eyebrow, though, when he saw that there were some pages violently torn from the diary. "Hm, looks like Clarice wrote something that either he or somebody else didn't like," he noted.

"What?" Sophia called behind her. "Oh, the missing pages... Well, that could certainly be connected to the murderer's motive. But it isn't the kind of clue we're looking for. Though I do really wonder what was written that was so...destructive..."

"You know, maybe we're looking at this the wrong way. Perhaps the clue lies in the princess' room?"

"Yeah, I considered that." She browsed the titles of the books Clarice had in his bookshelf. "But if there was a clue there my father would have found it. This is the only place I know of that wasn't searched." Then an idea hit her, and she smacked her forehead. "Why are we rummaging through Clarice's things? If little Catherine saw anything, she certainly would have had to have been by the door. I doubt she would have come in. We should look around the door..."

Graham's tail nodded and looked at the door while Graham's main head continued looking around the desk. His keen eyes saw a small piece of cloth stuck to the door's base. He started barking to get everybody's attention. "What is it, Tail?" Graham's main head questioned.

"Peas porridge cold!" explained his tail.

"Sophia, look! Over there, by the door! There's a little scrap of clothing!"

"I see it. Hm, that's strange..." Sophia squatted down to look at the cloth, but frowned. "It's a bit obvious. Wouldn't the murderer see it?"

"Perhaps he or she did, and that's why the princess is missing."

"Or maybe our rummaging just moved something off of it. In any case, I think this is sure-fire proof. Good finding, Graham, let's go tell Dad!"

* * *

Unfortunately, they did not see Dr. Flarison until the next day. The blizzard kept them from contacting each other, and so Graham and Sophia had to sleep in the castle that night.

Lady Valkyrie sat in an icy armchair as she watched Dr. Flarison investigate her room. "Doctor, I don't see why you must intrude on my privacy. I'm not in the mood at all." She had just recently experienced great trauma, and she did not wish to allow people into her room. The room had remained bolted the entire day yesterday after she met yet again with Articuno. She did not eat, and for a rare amount of time the halls did not contain the echoes of scolding. Today she was in slightly better moods, but she did not tell anybody about Articuno. Nobody but her trusted servant Goliath could know about her weakness. Nobody could know about what happened those weeks ago. Nobody. Goliath had warned her that Flarison's daughter and her friend were snooping around. She honestly hoped she would not have to face them today.

"I'm sorry to impose upon you, my lady," Dr. Flarison mumbled in embarrassment, "but, well, I haven't found any traces of a kidnapper in her room so I thought maybe the answer might lie in another room."

"Are you suggesting _I_ stole the girl, doctor?" Lady Valkyrie raised an eyebrow in amusement. "Do I have to remind you that _I'm_ the one looking for her?"

"No, no, madam, I'm not suggesting that at all."

"Then why waste your time here? Go somewhere else. I'm tired of your company, and wish to tend to my own thoughts in privacy." Her looks seemed to reinforce her statement. She looked ravaged. Her hair was messy and uncombed, her eyes were heavy with sleep, her clothes were wrinkled and soiled from melted snow. She had not slept a wink since her encounter yesterday, and was in a grumpy, reminiscient mood. Her heavy, corpulent body sagged in the chair she sat in. In front of her was her writing desk, a neat stack of business papers waiting for her to read. The state was running elections for US Senators, and today she had to file her county's votes to the state's capitol. She probably wasn't going to get to it.

"Well... I suppose we could check the kitchen..." Dr. Flarison trailed off. He picked up his things, called to the detectives helping him, and they moved for the door.

It was at that time that Graham and Sophia showed up. "Father!" Sophia smiled. "Father, I've been looking all over for you! I think Graham and I have come across a clue to the princess!"

"Really?" Dr. Flarison asked with a raise of his eyebrow. This certainly sounded interesting, and he hoped it wasn't some prank Sophia had come up with. "What is it?"

"Look!" Sophia grinned ear to ear (considering Charmeleons had ears; Graham wasn't quite sure where they were) as she reached into her coat pocket and revealed a torn piece of a pink dress. Dr. Flarison and his associates' eyes widened at the glimmering piece of fabric. They gathered around it in awe. It was like a warm glimmer of hope in the cold shadows of mystery. But to a particular person's eyes they meant so much more. They meant happiness. Of all the people in the room, Lady Valkyrie's eyes were widest of all. She weakly rose from her chair, which creaked as it lost her weight. She stumbled dizzily toward the doorway, calling, "What was that? A clue? Let me see it! I demand to!" She pushed a few detectives out of the way and gracefully swiped the fabric away from Sophia. She held it in the light of the sun coming through the windows, and she stared at it for a long while. Her eyes looked for a single sign that it might not be her daughter's. She wanted to be absolutely certain it was her daughter's and not somebody else's. She didn't care about other missing people, she just wanted her Catherine back. Not a single sign turned up. It was certainly and genuinely a piece of the dress she gave her daughter for her most recent birthday. Full of excitement and hope, feeling as good as new, she turned to Sophia with her enormous lips in a great big smile. "Oh, Sophia! Where ever did you find this? It's a shred of a dress I bought her last month!"

Sophia felt quite full of herself, but she was an honest girl. "Well, Graham's tail found it. He found it inside Clarice's room, just by the door."

And just like that Lady Valkyrie felt the blood drain from her face. "C-Clarice's... Clarice's r-room..." she stammered quietly in horror. "Oh my lord..." She turned to her room's guests. "Everybody, as great of a clue this is, I must request that it be examined in a lab today and not be investigated until tomorrow. Now please, give me some time to myself!" Everybody nodded in enthusiasm and the detectives and Dr. Flarison raced off to the forensics laboratory. Sophia and Graham were just about to follow them when an invisible rope seemed to snag them. "Sophia, Graham, I would like to have a moment with you two," Lady Valkyrie sternly added behind them. Her Psychic powers towed them into her chambers and locked the door.

"So, this is what it has come to," Lady Valkyrie sighed, returning to her chair behind her desk. The room's temperature seemed to drop as she looked the two teenagers square in the eye. She had gone from ravaged to happy to scared to angry in a matter of a few minutes. "I asked you two to keep your nose out of other people's affairs!" she roared. "And you disobeyed me, in my own castle! I thought I could trust you kids."

"My lady," Sophia started, "we were only trying to see what connection there was between your daughter and Clari--"

"Clarice. Clarice! Is that all you think about? Can't you see my daughter is missing, and that I don't care about Clarice? He's gone now, and that's the bottom line! You intruded in his living space, one that I specifically forbid you two from entering! How dare you, both of you! There shall be harsh punishments in store for the both of you immediately!"

"MY LADY!" Sophia roared back. Her attitude took both Lady Valkyrie and Graham by complete surprise. Nobody had spoken that way to the mistress before... "Lady Valkyrie, my actions were rash, I do admit. However, based on what we found in that room, it was completely necessary! My lady, this man was _killed_! _Why_ must you keep those doors locked? If you keep them locked, nobody will know who killed him! And whoever killed him apparently captured your daughter!"

Lady Valkyrie was taken aback. Things were starting to get ugly. "Why... Why do you say that...?"

"You saw the torn cloth!" Sophia angrily snapped. "Think about it. What if the princess saw the murder? Don't you think the murderer would try to get rid of her? It makes perfect sense!" Graham nodded, it did make a lot of sense, especially a particular sentence...

"No it doesn't!" Lady Valkyrie screamed. She pounded her fists on her desk, making papers fly everywhere. Her hair was lifted into the air by a force field of furious Psychic energy. Her mind was racing desperately. "A torn cloth proves nothing! My daughter could have been in there before such a thing happened! What proof do you have that she was there at the moment or afterwards? What proof?"

"Lady Valkyrie, you had those doors locked for quite some time, I'll warrant. You discovered the murder, and for reasons I do not know you locked the door as soon as you could to keep people from finding it!" Sophia was on a role now. "Your daughter couldn't have gotten there long afterwards, I'll give you that. But she couldn't have been there prior, at least not when this fabric was ripped. There was blood splattered in the area where we found it. Somehow, the fabric was spotless. I believe it is because it got there after the bloodshed. When she witnessed it with her own eyes!"

"That's pure CONJECTURE!" The room felt as if it were shaking. "My daughter couldn't have been there! I forbid her from going to that room! I would never let her be in the grasps of Clarice! Never! EVER! I would never let him harm her!" Lady Valkyrie had a look so desperate that it seemed to plead to the air itself to find some way to protect her.

"My lady, why did you think he'd harm her?" Graham asked suddenly. "Certainly he was a terrible fellow, but you never seemed to care about what he did. And he didn't seem to be the kind to harm a little girl..."

"Nonsense! Don't you dare call him a good man! My girl, my poor little baby!"

To Graham's eyes Lady Valkyrie suddenly looked like a caged animal. One that didn't want something known... "Lady Valkyrie," he began carefully. "I hate to suggest this, but... You killed him. Didn't you?" The room fell into utter silence, broken only by the sobs of a crushed, defeated woman and her stressful poundings on the table.


	9. Frozen Memories

**Author's Note:** Sorry about the wait on the chapter... But then again, those of you who follow any of my other works are used to waits! *snort* This chapter breaks some of the ice...pun intended! This is also one of the few times in my life when some of my longest paragraphs in a chapter are dialogue.

* * *

**Chapter 9: Frozen Memories**

The silence was broken by Sophia and her empathy. In front of her, head laying on her writing desk, sobbed a woman who was colder than ice. Sophia felt that what Lady Valkyrie needed was some warmth and comfort to raise her spirits. She carefully stepped around the governess' desk. "There there, my lady, please calm down. I'm sure your daughter's alright." She lowered her hand onto Lady Valkyrie's back, but quickly recoiled and clutched her hand in pain. "My lady, you're... You're so cold!"

"Of course I'm cold," Lady Valkyrie cried in between tearful sobs, "I'm the Ice Queen. My entire life is one of subzero temperatures. I am forever frozen to that fate."

"Please, my lady, do try to calm down. Do you think you could tell us why you killed Clarice? Maybe you could let some steam out or something."

Lady Valkyrie sat up and wiped her bloodshot eyes. The area of her desk where she had cried had already frozen into a small sheet of ice. She did her best to stop crying, though it didn't do much good. "I... I suppose there's no fooling you now... Alright, I'll... I'll tell..." she sniffled. Lady Valkyrie waved her hand and mentally carried Graham and Sophia onto a chair and a stool respectively. "There's no point in avoiding it any longer..." The Ice Queen blew her nose into a tissue and composed herself as best she could.

"It all started when I sent a letter to the Peruvian embassy in Washington D.C., requesting a Xatu to assist me with some 'business.' They complied, and soon I got word that a man named Clarice Voyalatl was sent to visit me this month. I purchased him a room to stay in in the hotel so that he'd be comfortable, and for the next few weeks he was to work with me in trying to figure out what sort of future I'd have--Xatus are world renowned for their ability to see into the future, you see. I was really, _really_ desperate to find out the results--for reasons I'd rather not say. Unfortunately, I did not expect Clarice's personality to be so...so _awful_. I hated the man, but when I first objected to the way he treated my staff he told me that if I gave him any trouble he'd head back to Peru immediately. It was very expensive bringing him up here, so as you can understand I didn't want to put my money to waste. Clarice's demands grew bigger and bigger as soon as he realized this. He still did his work, but he became more and more troublesome. Soon he decided he didn't like his rooming conditions, and insisted he move into the castle--for the time being, of course."

"Not exactly," Graham interrupted. "We investigated his room. According to what we found, he never planned on leaving at all."

"It doesn't surprise me," Lady Valkyrie sniffed. "The way he held me, he could certainly do it."

"But all this doesn't exactly give you a reason to kill him, my lady..."

"Oh, he deserved what happened to him. Two weeks ago, I barged in on him in his room; this is my castle, after all, and therefore nobody's privacy is safe from my presence. I have no need to knock. He didn't expect me, however, and I walked in on him writing something in his journal. I thought it was just some personal things, but as he hurriedly closed it I caught a glance of a drawing of my daughter, Catherine. And worse yet, it was a _nude_ picture. I didn't believe what I saw, but just to be sure I ordered him to show me what he had just written. He refused, and we got into a struggle. Fortunately, my Psychic powers were far stronger than his. I succeeded in discovering what was on that page. What I discovered angered me. It made me furious! The fiend! The monster! The MONSTER!" Lady Valkyrie banged her fist on the table in rage. "I hate him! I hate him!"

"What did you discover?" Sophia asked cautiously.

"See for yourself." Lady Valkyrie opened a drawer and took out a few papers. Graham recognized these as the missing pages in Clarice's diary. She mentally handed the papers to Graham and Sophia. The papers were in Spanish or Portuguese, though, so neither of them could read it. "What's the matter?" Lady Valkyrie snapped. "Can't read his language? Here, I'll tell you what those papers discuss. That monster of a bird brain planned on raping my daughter! Not once, but ten times!" Her mouth trembled, not in sorrow now but in utter rage. Sophia and Graham's jaws dropped. "That man was a pedophile, and the whole reason he even came was not to help me, but was because he heard I had a daughter!" She pounded the table again.

"When I found this out, I was thrown into a blind rage! I used Thrash and pummeled the man! It was a blow to the head that killed him. I didn't feel the least bit sorry for him, but I knew the reality of what I had done. I couldn't be taken away to prison, not in front of my own daughter! So I hid Clarice in that room, somewhere nobody but Goliath and I can access. I forbid anybody from entering the room, and declared that Clarice had left for an indefinite amount of time. Oh, if I had only known Catherine had seen it..." But this time she didn't cry. Lady Valkyrie froze her troubles, and rose from her chair. The look of sheer power and ice cold intellect returned to her face. "Graham, Sophia, I can't thank you two enough for helping me."

"Huh? How did we help you?" asked Sophia. "I would have thought we hurt you..."

"You both have opened my eyes to the situation at hand. Our entire search was for a red Gyarados, yet the two of you have proven beyond a doubt the identity of my daughter's kidnapper. And on top of it all, you have lifted the weight of my crime from my back. I feel refreshed, and ready to help find my daughter in any way I can."

"Who _did_ kidnap Catherine?" Graham questioned, hoping he didn't miss anything.

"Nobody to my knowledge captured her. I was the one who killed Clarice, and Catherine saw me. She never loved me, and after what she witnessed I probably terrified her. Catherine was not captured at all. She faked her capture and simply ran away."

"So does that mean she's alright?" Sophia grinned. "We just have to find her?"

"I think I already have..." Graham nodded.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Tell us, Graham, I demand an answer!"

"Well... For the last few nights--except for yesterday's night--my mind's been visited by the mind of a young girl. We've conversed, and she knows quite a bit about a few things. The only thing she wouldn't tell me was where she was or what she was. All she said was that her name was Cathy."

"That's her! That must be my girl!" Lady Valkyrie smiled a very warm smile, an odd thing for such a cold woman to do.

"Well then I guess we don't have to worry about much. It sounded like she was alright."

"Well, I can't say I agree with you..."

"Why is that?"

"She and I have a sort of connection. You could call it a mother's sense of her child's condition. Up until yesterday I somehow knew Catherine was safe. But now..."

"Yesterday you felt she was in danger?"

"Yes."

"That was the same day I stopped hearing from her..."

"You know what?" Sophia blurted with a great sigh of frustration. "I'm _really_ wondering where the heck the princess exactly is. We can consider whether she's in danger or not later; right now, we need to find her. Possibly fast."

* * *

A light snow fell that evening. Citizens of the village roamed about, ignoring the weather and sometimes not even noticing it. One could pick out visitors by looking indoors. The cold, icy mountain weather kept most foreigners--even those from other parts of the state--inside and warm. Those who went outside dressed as warm as they could--citizens and foreigners alike--except for the Ice Pokemon, who dressed almost light. Even in the dark winter evening, life progressed. Glace picked his sister up from school; a mother Weavile ushered her preschooler Sneasel son to hurry up unless he wanted to be run over by a car; a large and snobby Lickylicky wiped his mouth with a napkin as he hobbled out of the town; Dr. Flarison drove his children and Graham back to the suite; an old Delibird mailman did his last rounds of the day. Nobody would have noticed if foul play had taken place a few weeks ago in the frozen Dancer's Castle. Nobody would have noticed if foul play were taking place just a few ways down the mountain at that very moment. Life just ushered on, with little to care about outside matters.

Dr. Flarison had swept up Graham and Sophia the moment they got out of Lady Valkyrie's room, and the two didn't have a moment alone until during supper at a restraunt, when they both "coincidentially" had to use the restroom. As soon as the two were alone, Sophia gave Graham a sharp look and annoyedly hissed, "Why didn't you tell me about Catherine?"

"I... Well, I was going to..." Graham sheepishly answered, hoping he hadn't hurt Sophia's feelings. "She wouldn't let me, though. Honest."

"Jell-O," agreed his tail.

"Well maybe you shouldn't have listened to her!" Sophia growled. She waved it off quickly however; Sophia wasn't the type of person to keep a grudge about such triffling matters. She smiled a toothy smile, revealing her sharp, glistening teeth. In some cases it would have been pretty, but she had just eaten Krabby and bits and pieces of seafood and shell debris was stuck on her teeth. "At least we've gotten somewhere. We just have to promise eachother we won't tell Lady Valkyrie's secret. Not yet, anyway. She needs to do that on her own."

"Her story actually surprised me; well, I'm sure it surprised both of us, but it surprised me in another way. I thought Jynx weren't able to learn how to Thrash."

"It's an old custom, only a few of them uphold it."

"Also, if Clarice was able to see the future... Why didn't he anticipate his own death?"

"He was probably busy with seeing Lady Valkyrie's future."

"And seeing up Froslass kaminos," added Graham, rolling his eyes. "Not a very pleasant person, that Clarice."

Sophia shook her head in disgust. She then looked behind her and tilted her head in the direction of her father. "Hey, we'd better head into the restrooms. We don't want him getting suspicious."

"Uno dos tres!" cried Graham's tail. The toilet worked alright for many Pokemon, but Girafarigs had to deal with squishing their lower head between their bodies and the lid of the toilet. And of course, then there was the less appealing parts too... A well-kept Girafarig secret, of course. But in any case, Graham's tail hated going through with any of it. He was just fortunate he didn't have a nose.

Graham and Sophia split up, going into their respective restrooms. Sophia came out all sparkling with her usual sunshine personality, but Graham came out with a look of angst on both of his faces. "There was a Glalie in the stall next to me. It froze my...well, you know." Glalies were Pokemon so cold they froze the air around them.

"So...how'd you succeed in your, uh, task?" Sophia blushed, embarrassed to have such a discussion but aware that being Graham's guide to the World of Pokemon it was her responsibility to solve such Pokemon-related problems...or at least talk them out.

"Well, the, uh, liquid didn't completely freeze, it was just in the process of doing so. So it came out really slow... And it hit the water almost like drops of ice."

"That's unlucky. You have to watch out for those things when you're around Ice Pokemon, especially here where there are a lot of Snorunts." Snorunts, of course, evolved into Glalies; though some female ones evolved into Froslass. "I don't have those problems, though, because I'm a Fire Pokemon." She snorted a small flame to emphasize her point. "Come on, let's get back to Danny and my father."

They returned to the table just as Danny was finishing his self-cooked Tauros steak. Fire Pokemon had the benefit of being able to cook their own food instead of needing the chef to do so. That way, they could burn their food to just the right temperature, cooking, etc. They didn't have to go by limitations of Well Done, Rare, and Medium. Dr. Flarison smiled as the two adolescents sat down in their seats and slipped their tails through the tail holes. "Well, it took you two a while. I was just telling Danny that tomorrow we were going to search the grounds outside of the castle. According to a detective, Lady Valkyrie has reasons to believe that the princess may have run off on her own. There may be footprints outside her window."

Sophia's eyes beamed as she munched on her Krabby. Graham couldn't help but smile too. "That sounds like an excellent idea," he nodded. He took one last bite of his salad, and decided he was done.

* * *

The snow continued to fall the next morning. Sophia sighed in frustration the moment she lazily peeked out the window. Snow would melt when it got around her tail, and that meant more patches of frozen water wherever she went. "Morning, Sophers," Danny yawned, walking up beside her. The contrast between his bright orange scales and her deep maroon scales was remarkable in the morning light. Danny rubbed an eye with a fist, and looked out the window. "Aw geez, snow _again_?"

"Hey, you've been in snow before. It snows in the winter at our place."

"Yeah, but it's not winter yet!"

"Technically, it almost is. Don't forget, we're almost reaching the end of November."

"Do you know if it's snowing in our town yet?"

"I asked Arthur about that last night on MSN. He said it was on the forecast. It's been pretty cold down there lately, so I wouldn't be surprised. Andrew is already preparing his snowman gallery for this year's show." A Water and Ground Pokemon, Andrew the Marshtomp was very skilled at manipulating wet dirt and mud. Which there was a lot of during the first few weeks of winter. In their neighborhood, he was renowned for his bizarre and artistic snowmen made of slush, the dirty, wet brown snow that most people--especially Fire Pokemon--detested. Danny made a face at the thought of it. "Hey now, be nice," Sophia scolded lightly. "Andrew's my best friend."

"Yeah, well his brother's one of my friends, and he doesn't like the snowmen either."

"I suppose everybody has their own opinion. But it's good use of slush, you know."

At that moment, the door to the suite thrust open and in walked Dr. Flarison and Graham carrying bags of food. "Hey Sophia, Daniel," Dr. Flarison greeted. "We're back from the grocery store."

"Obviously," Graham's two heads chuckled.

"Oh yes, and we brought donuts!" Dr. Flarison reached into one bag with his hand and pulled out a box full of warm donuts. "I tried my best to keep them warm; it's very cold outside, so it wasn't easy."

"Oh yeah?" Sophia smirked with a raised eyebrow as Danny dove for the box. "What's the temperature?"

"Five below, I'm afraid," Graham sighed.

"Seriously?" Sophia moaned. This was the coldest day on their trip in the mountains yet! "Ugh, and we're going to look for footprints in that? UGH!" She stormed out of the room to get her clothes.

"It's that time of the month, Dad!" Danny mumbled, his mouth full of warm old fashioned donut.

"Daniel!" Dr. Flarison snapped. "Be nice to your sister!"

"I heard that, Danny!" Sophia roared from the other room. "You better watch your back today!"

* * *

After breakfast, Graham sighed in despair and put his heavy coat back on. One of the things he didn't like about winters in this world was the footwear. In his world, people could wear boots to keep the snow and ice off their feet. But because of the intense variety of feet in the World of Pokemon, boots and most shoes for that matter simply didn't exist for all but the human-like Pokemon such as Machoke or Hitmonchan. So his enormous, bony feet and small hooves were doomed for contact with cold icy snow, as were the Flarisons' scaly, clawed feet.

Sophia grumbled too as she put her parka on and helped Danny with his jacket. "Why did it have to be in the winter?" the quietly asked herself. "Why couldn't it have been in the summer? The Rocky Mountains are so nice in the summer!"

As soon as everybody was ready to go they all left the suite and went down to Dr. Flarison's car. Everybody had a feeling of anticipation about them. Finally, they felt, progress was made to the search. As they drove up towards the Dancer's Castle, each one knew in their own little way that this would be their lucky day.

* * *

**Disclaimer: **I never write these, even though I probably should, so here's one now. Pokemon are copyrighted by Nintendo, but all the characters and locations in this story are copyrighted by me!


	10. Subzero Investigation

**Author's Note:** Merry Christmas! Here's a wintry chapter sure to send shivers down your spine.

* * *

**Chapter 10: Subzero Investigation**

Graham's fur stuck up straight, the Girafarig equivalent to goosebumps. His teeth chattered and he wrapped his hands around his chest, trying to keep as warm as he could. The lightly furred and oddly shaped Pokemon was just not made for subzero temperatures and coats that didn't entirely compromise his two-headed body. He stuck as close to Sophia and the other members of her family as he could, not straying even once. He had hoped that the detectives would bring their Growlithes to track down the Princess' scent--dog Fire Pokemon that were nice and warm. But it was not to be.

Lady Valkyrie, a few of her handmaidens, and Goliath were outside waiting for Dr. Flarison and the detectives when they arrived. "Welcome, gentlemen, Sophia," Lady Valkyrie personally greeted. "We'll show you to the area outside my daughter's window."

"Hang on a second, ma'am," one of the detectives, a Rhydon, sheepishly called. "I and a few of the other detectives have to go back to headquarters for a moment; I'm a bit embarrassed to say we accidentally left our Growlithes back there." He awkwardly rubbed the back of his hard neck with his powerful hooved hand, drill horn spinning about nervously.

Lady Valkyrie replied with a face so cold it could have frozen a pool of hot chocolate ten miles away. "Sir, what do you mean you left the Growlithes? I don't want Growlithes, they are a waste of time!"

"Well, I, uh..." The detective looked at the snowy ground in shame. "Ma'am, I thought... Well, the Growlithes are what we use to sniff out people..."

Lady Valkyrie looked like she was going to explode again, so Dr. Flarison quickly intercepted the conversation. "Don't you trouble yourself, my lady, I'll explain it for him. Dan, it is true, I know, that forensic officers are generally trained for using Growlithes; but in cases like this where days or weeks of snow have come and stayed or melted, their noses just aren't cut out for the job. What Lady Valkyrie was getting at was that in cases like these, Swinubs are the answer."

"Of course!" another detective--a Roselia--cried, smacking her forehead. "How could we have forgotten? The chief detective did mention that there was a special reserve of Swinubs back at headquarters a few days ago, we should get them!"

"Oh yeah..." Dan whimpered. He continued to look at the snowy ground, though Graham and Sophia swore he was closer to Dr. Flarison now, as if he was afraid of being left alone with the Jynx governess. He rubbed an arm and swished his impossibly heavy stone tail around in the snow. "Kind of an odd sort of personality for a Rhydon," Sophia whispered into Graham's ear. "Normally they are so temperamental."

"Well, I suppose everybody has a right to be different," Graham whispered back.

* * *

Graham, Sophia, and Danny were for the most part left out of the investigation, though it was understandable considering they had no part of it in the first place. Lady Valkyrie, having shared her dark secret with Graham and Sophia, did occassionally pass by and idly ask, "Hm, do you suppose she might have gone towards the pine trees over there?" or some other question that she hoped Sophia or especially Graham would have an opinion on. But in the meantime, Sophia and Danny settled into building a snowman in the shape of a Magneton, Graham following them wherever they went so as to keep warm. It was especially cold in the presence of Lady Valkyrie and Goliath, and he was desperate to put a stop to his shivering. The Magneton snowman was, of course, a failure, so they decided to make one shaped like a Hitmonchan instead. Every so often, though, he snuck a glance at the curious investigation.

With the exception of Silver Version, he had never seen a Swinub before. They were, in his opinion, very Earth-like in their appearance. There was an incredible contrast between the way he and more specifically his non-humanoid species looked compared to the little Swinubs, wooly Pokemon that looked like a cross between musk oxen and pigs. It was almost like looking at suitcase-sized masses of pure brown hair, with squinting eyes and a very pig-like nose. Only at the rarest of moments did he glance their tiny hooved feet, buried underneath their fur; it was a small reminder that of all the Pokemon he had seen in the Rocky Mountains, these Swinubs were his closest relatives other than the Stantler.

They even sounded like pigs; the moment they were released from their Pokeballs the sounds of grunts and oinks filled the frozen air. Sophia explained to Graham that Swinubs were master smellers, particularly skilled in digging up truffles and other underground treasures. They were sometimes used by detectives and paramedics in the mountains due to their massive advantage over Growlithes when it came to sniffing things out through mounds of snow. Swinubs were almost as skilled with their noses as Smoochums were with their lips.

Each detective brought a Swinub; one, an Arbok, brought a Piloswine too. He said it helped keep the Swinubs in order. The littlest was Dan's. Dan was the timidest, meekest Rhydon Sophia had ever seen. Rhyhorns and Rhydons had infamous reputations as being violent, destructive, and quick to anger. Nobody ever crossed paths with a Rhyhorn having a bad day. It was just simply out of the question--even the humanoid ones would succumb to their natural instincts and blindly rampage at individuals. When she was a Charmander Sophia once was almost hit by a grumpy Rhyhorn at her town's zoo; so naturally, she was baffled everytime she saw this humble hunk of rock. Dan avoided Lady Valkyrie as best he could, doing his best to subtly keep Dr. Flarison between himself and her without hurting her feelings. He could visibly feel her cold, penetrating stare; he looked like he might have even preferred a paralyzing Glare from his Arbok partner. Nonetheless, Sophia took a liking to Dan, whose demeanor eased Sophia's bad memories of the Rhyhorn line and made her eager to befriend one.

Dan was perfectly happy being called away from his work to help Sophia with a large mound of snow. It was too big for her to push even with Strength, yet it was to be the large head of the Hitmonchan snowman so it was necessary. "Sure, young lady, I'll help you with that," he pleasantly smiled. With the strength of, well, a rhinoceros made of stone, Dan picked the snowball up with his two hands and skillfully placed it on top of the snowman without toppling the frail body. "There, all done!" he huffed, wiping his hands together. As he turned around though, his hulking tail accidentally hit one of Hitmonchan's legs and the snow came falling down. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" He was back to his sheepish self, looking at Sophia with hope that she wouldn't hurt him (though really being a Rock/Ground Pokemon he had the full advantage over her).

Though Danny made a frustrated sneer, Sophia just waved her hand and shrugged. "That's alright, I almost expected the head to topple down anyway." At that moment, Dan's Swinub waddled over, leaving his partner's Piloswine and Swinub to go join his owner.

"Hello, Gossamer," Dan smiled, bending down to pat his Ice Pokemon's furry body in welcome. "Couldn't bear that control freak of a Piloswine, or did you just miss me?"

"Hey!" the Arbok playfully called. "Careful, or you'll go an' hurt ma Pilosssssswine's feelingssssss!"

Dan looked up at Sophia and almost in apology offered, "Would you like to pet him? Gossamer's nice, he won't hit you with a Ground attack or anything." Sophia nodded in gratitude and kneeled down to give Gossamer a good scratch with her claws. Gossamer was warm and soft under her coarse scaly hands, and putting her hand on him gave Sophia a very comforting feeling. His brown fur coat, lined with dark brown stripes, reminded her almost of fine chocolates one would by in a fancy chocolate shop. Gossamer snorted and sniffed Sophia's leg to try and figure out who or what she was. Satisfied, it let her continue scratching it for a short while before scampering away to search for more clues. "Gossamer and I go way back," Dan continued. "He's been one of my best friends ever since I was a young Rhyhorn."

"You mean he isn't from the forensics headquarters?"

"Nope, both my partner's Piloswine and Gossamer are our own Pokemon. Gossamer and I had similar problems in our youth; I was always picked on for being the wimpiest Rhyhorn in the family, and Gossamer was picked on by his brothers and sisters for being the family runt. I was wandering home from school late in the spring, all sad over how this one Sneasel girl had treated me, when I ran into Gossamer, who was being chased and teased by his own family. I chased them off--a rare thing for me to do, despite what my species was--and we befriended each other. That was back when Wes and I planned on being Pokemon Trainers, so of course I caught it. Wes later caught one himself, but now its a Piloswine."

"And Wes, I'm assuming, is your partner?"

"Yes, he's that Arbok over there. The two of us have been close friends ever since kindergarden. I'm still surprised we're still so tight; in high school Wes evolved into an Arbok and was for a while one of the most popular kids in the school. But as much as he loved the fame and glory we stuck together all the same."

"That's so sweet!" Sophia grinned. "You were very lucky!" She looked over at the Arbok and his Piloswine. Wes looked like he was from the Wild West, that was for sure. She guessed almost as much just from hearing his Western accent, but she was certain he was from the western part of the country after seeing what he wore. Being cold-blooded didn't seem too much of a problem to him, because his long, thick, heavy purple tail was completely bare. His brawny chest though was covered in what she judged as being three layers, the top layer being a light brown fleece lined on the inside with wool. The Poison Pokemon's head was topped by a brown cowboy hat. He bore the laid-back facial expression a stereotypical cowboy typically bore, and he rested his arm on a fence as his Piloswine did some rummaging around in the snow. The frightening patterns on his cobra hood was the only thing about him that was intimidating. If one only saw his head, the only sign of ferocious energy in him was the rapid speed in which his heat-sensitive tongue darted in and out of his mouth. Sophia felt, though, that he could be unbelievably scary when he got angry. It was the way of the Arbok.

"And now we're partners in the forensics department. It all worked out pretty well, except Gossamer is dead jealous of Wes' Piloswine. From what I can tell, that Piloswine is quite the braggart; and on top of it, Gossamer _was_ the runt after all." Dan yawned, his rhinoceros mouth opening wide and showing his many teeth. "Well, I probably shouldn't be standing here chatting. I could get in trouble with the lady if I loiter around." Dan sighed a deep, melancholy sigh and tromped over towards Wes. "It was a pleasure to meet you, young lady!" he waved back.

"It was a pleasure to meet you too!" Sophia called. "And my name's Sophia Flarison, Dr. Flarison's daughter!" She watched for a moment while Dan and Wes started talking about the case. She turned around and walked almost straight into Graham. "Woah, I forgot you were there for a moment!" she jumped.

"Yep, we were just in the neighborhood and thought we'd follow you all day," Graham sarcastically replied with a raised eyebrow.

"Well sorry..."

The two, having nothing better to do, just sat and talked. "You know," Graham remarked as he scratched an itch on the back of his main neck, "I've had a strange feeling all day."

"Since before we got here?"

"No, definitely not before we got here."

"Do you think it's the princess?"

"Well... I don't know. I've just had this strange feeling in my two heads, I dunno if Tail feels it but it's been bothering me."

"Well, what do _you_ think it is?" Sophia put a hand to her cheek, resting her elbow on her knee. She was always curious about Graham's psychic hunches, and always felt she had to bring those feelings out before Graham could make a real conclusion on them. She probably could have guessed the voice in his head was the princess right away, she thought.

"It feels like... Oh, I don't know... As if there's something, something very near. Some Psychic aura, almost, maybe left behind by the princess or somebody else. I lose touch with it whenever Lady Valkyrie comes near, so...maybe it really is some Psychic aura." Graham looked longingly at his tail, who returned it with a look that reflected his frustration. "I wish we could actually communicate, Tail," he quietly grumbled towards his black companion. "I'm sure your senses are much keener than mine."

"Tomatoes," his tail nodded, equally annoyed and equally wishing he could communicate with his other head. "Black Friday gives me the creeps."

A clump of snow was kicked into the air, startling both Pokemon. Graham's tail looked around and saw Gossamer kicking up snow. "Oink oink!" he cried (fortunately, Graham's tail was capable of making logical sounds). Graham stood up and flipped around, seeing the Swinub as it dug into the ground.

"Quick, let's go get Dan!" Graham exclaimed. "Looks like Gossamer's found something!" He was about to run off when Sophia grabbed his arm.

"Wait a minute, Graham!" she snapped quietly. "Why don't we see what it is ourselves? I'm so tired of hanging around bored like this, and if we let the adults find everything that's all we'll ever get to do! Did you see the progress we made with our own investigations?"

"Are you serious? They're professionals, whereas we are amateurs who know very little about working on cases like these."

"I'm dead serious. Now come on." Sophia pulled Graham's arm, gesturing toward the Swinub. Not seeing any way out, Graham just sighed and surrendered. The two crossed the snow towards Gossamer, who was now stuck in its hole. Sophia bent down and popped the ball of fur out of the hole. "Hey there, little guy, what'd you find?" she asked, giving Gossamer a smile.

"Uh, Sophia?" Graham gulped. "I think you need to see this..." Deep in the ground, a frightening-looking handle was clearly visible protruding from Gossamer's hole. It looked almost like a bone. Sophia's eyes widened when she saw it, both out of intrigue and out of terror. What could lay beneath that dreadful handle?

"Hey Gossamer, do you think you could do me a favor and clear the dirt around that handle for us?" she politely requested. The Swinub jumped out of her hands and started digging up the area around the handle. A sort of hatch or door began to form in their gaze. It was etched with a spooky picture of a Glalie and a few skeletons.

"Are you really sure you want to do this?" Graham pleaded as Sophia bent down and pulled on the handle. The hatch creaked as it opened, slow and menacing as it did.

"Yeah... I think I'm sure."

There was an iron ladder in the revealed hole. Sophia wiped some nervous sweat off her face and began climbing down the ladder into the bleak darkness of the chamber beyond. Graham, not wanting to leave Sophia alone, took one last look before following her down.

* * *

The trip down the ladder was long and cold, and very very foreboding. As Graham peered up at the vanishing light, slowly but menacingly growing smaller and smaller as they went deeper and deeper, he felt as though with the light his freedom was slipping away. The silence of the tunnel frightened him, and he wished now that he were back in his warm bed. Soon, all the could see was the flicker of Sophia's tail flame. The darkness gripped his lungs, suffocating him with great ferocity. It was harder and harder to breathe, and the tunnel seemed infinitely deep. It went on and on, as if they were going to the very base of the mountain. In the near-pitch black maw he felt his sanity gently slipping away, as if there were no longer any need for the slightesty bit of humanity. Surely, he felt, by the end he'd just be an ordinary Girafarig, one doomed to live forever in the choking darkness. How long would it take, he wondered, before insanity and ferality finally took over? Minutes? Hours? Days?

Sophia was almost thinking these very same thoughts as she decended the ladder below him. She wondered if she'd made a mistake, if perhaps she pushed her investigation a little too far. She wondered faintly if she'd ever see her family again. She hadn't even thought to give Danny a "Good-bye," and she never let her father know where she had gone. If she perished in this dreadful tomb, would her father ever find her? Would she ever leave this place? What terrible fate had she condemned Graham with? Was this really a place for a young princess to run off to?

And then at last, they reached the bottom. Sophia got there first, because she was lower on the ladder. The cold, damp stone floor sent shivers up her leg when she first set her clawed feet on it, startling her and making her let go of the ladder. Fortunately she was hardly a distance from the floor. "Hey Graham!" she called up. "I've reached the bottom!"

"That's g-good to know, Sophia!" Graham echoed back. And soon he too arrived at the bottom, hooves clicking on the floor. "Hey, Sophia? Do you think you could light this place up?"

"I don't know if I--"

"Just light the dang place up!" Graham yelled on the edge of madness.

"I can't, Graham!" Sophia roared back, her roar a mix of a dragon's snarl and a girl's terror. "I've already tried!"

"What do you mean?"

"Queen Duck plays what?" cried Graham's tail in despair.

"Don't you think I've already tried!?" Sophia cried, frightened for both her life and Graham's. "This darkness is impenetrable! It's thick as it is even with my tail flame! Flash did _nothing_! I don't know why, but this darkness is like a phantom, refusing to hinder at all!"

"Aw, Sophia, I'm going to go mad if I have to stay here any longer! I'm sorry, but I have to go back!"

"I think you're right, Graham, I think you're right..."

Graham stopped suddenly. "Wait a moment. Where's the ladder?" That was the match that lit the flames of their terror. Sophia wagged her tail flame everywhere, but they couldn't find the ladder, not a trace of it.

"Oh no, we're lost! We're lost!" Sophia cried in anguish. The only thing either of them could see was the orange glow of her tail. Sophia could hardly tell where she was, and Graham was covered in complete darkness that he couldn't tell where he was at all. Both fell silent, muted by their own hysteria. Surely, they realized, it was only moments before they went mad. And then it was that they heard the sound.

It was a bloodcurdling roar, far off but very real. Neither Sophia nor Graham could tell what it was that had made the sound, but they both suddenly felt very vulnerable. "Oh my gosh, there's something in here!" Graham frantically whispered in horror. "There's something in here!" He grabbed Sophia both to protect her and to comfort himself. "My god, there's something in here!"


	11. Creature of the Tomb

**Author's Note:** After a week or so, it's nice to see an update, eh?

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the rights to Pokemon, the Pokemon species, or the Pokemon terms and systems and stuff; they are all owned by Nintendo. However, I do own the rights to the individual characters, plot, and locations that appear in this story.

* * *

**Chapter 11: Creature of the Tomb**

Graham's fearful words were all that preceded the silence, the terrible silence, that followed he and Sophia wherever they went in the pitch black cave deep beneath the Dancer's Castle. It felt like it had been centuries since they saw open daylight. It felt like it had been millenniums since they had last been home. Neither Graham nor Sophia were capable of thinking straight; all they could do was keep silent, feel the walls that would hopefully lead them somewhere, and in Graham's case keep close to Sophia's tail flame. It frustrated both of them how useless the flame was in such a dark place, and how the flame gave them away to whatever monster was in the cave with them. Such was a fault of many Fire Pokemon--their lives revolved around the flames on their tails, so putting the flames out would cost them their lives.

Though, Graham feared, something else in the cave may cost them their lives. They heard very little of it since its debuting roar, and dreaded the chance that its silence was because it was stalking them. Sophia had heard stories of monsters in the mountains. Some turned out to just be mistaken for monsters, like the Slaking that was mistaken for being a cave monster in South America that one time. But other cases were very real, and very terrifying. Sableyes were cave-dwelling Ghost Pokemon notorious for torturing trespassing mountaineers. Wild Froslass turned people lost in the mountains in Eastern Asia into lifeless blocks of ice, and the Abomasnow were objects of Tibetan nightmares. These stories, the product of Halloween story-telling nights, ran through Sophia's mind the deeper she went into the cave. She tried reassuring herself that maybe what they heard was just a Misdreavus, another cave-dwelling Ghost Pokemon that was mischievous and enjoyed scaring people it encountered. It was little use, though.

Graham was both fortunate and unfortunate that he hadn't spent as much time in the World of Pokemon as Sophia. He didn't know all the spooky stories told on Halloween, so they didn't spin through his two heads. Unfortunately, he had heard stories from his own world, frightening ones, and he was also aware of the different kinds of Pokemon that might try eating him.

The friends clung to the wall wherever they went, doing their best to keep moving forward and avoiding walking into anywhere that their hands didn't touch, such as a tunnel branching off or something. The wall was icy and very cold, and it stung their every fingertip. Sometimes, Sophia especially because she didn't have those numb hooves on her fingers like Graham did, they wished they could just take their hands off the wall, just for a second. If they did that, though, they would surely lose their way and be doomed to be lost in the cave forever.

After what may have been minutes or hours (neither of them could tell, though it in reality was roughly two hours), they heard the creature again. It was a faint sound, but faint in a way that meant it was just a small sound that could very well have been very close. In a regular circumstance it could have been shrugged off as nature just doing its work, but in Graham and Sophia's case it was a very horrible and wretched sound. It was the crack of a brittle sheet of ice, a thin frozen puddle that couldn't stand the least bit of weight. Graham and Sophia almost jumped a mile high, but considering the circumstances they fortunately kept their surprise under control. "What was that?" Graham whispered in horror.

"You mean that wasn't you?"

"No, it came from behind!" Both of them looked slowly behind them, not able to tell what each other was doing but hoping beyond hope that they were hearing things. Graham looked down at where he hoped his tail was bobbing. "Hey Tail," he whispered, "do you sense anything?" His tail had very keen psychic senses, so if anybody could sense anything through the darkness it was him.

His tail was silent for a moment, looking at carefully as he could into the darkness behind them. It all seemed to be a unified, unbroken blackness... Until, he noticed, a quiver of Sophia's tail flame revealed the faintest, least conspicuous change of darkness imaginable. There was the darkness...and then there was an even darker darkness, a faint outline, the shadow of some object cast by Sophia's flame. The shadow wasn't stable--it swayed every so slightly. His psychic powers told him as much. "Graham," he whispered, the one name he could always say correctly. It was his own name, after all. "Graham," he repeated with more urgency in his voice, but adding quickly and very desperately, "cook!" It didn't take a Slowpoke to guess that he meant "run."

Without a moment to lose, Graham mentally found and grabbed Sophia's arm, a rush of adrenaline fueling his senses. Simply but resolutely he demanded, "Come on, Sophia, let's go!" He let go of the wall, and holding Sophia's arm tight he took off, using Agility to speed himself up. As soon as they started running the mysterious creature behind them roared in surprise, anger, and hunger. Its roar slowly but seamlessly turned into a chuckle, then a laugh; a laugh so wicked and evil it could have been a devil's. The creature briskly lumbered after them, not ceasing its laughter for a second.

It's laughter echoed off the ice and created a strange alternate reality for the blind teenagers. They couldn't hear the clop of Graham's hooves or the scraping thud of Sophia's feet on the floor, nor could they hear their own panting breaths. They couldn't see a thing, yet they had to blindly and desperately run through the darkness, their lives depending on it. It was almost like a dream--or more accurately, a nightmare. Graham almost felt as if he was actually asleep, late at night, having a distant nightmare about a monster, a cave, Sophia, and a bitter, dry cold that he no longer felt with all the energy burning inside him. The laughter echoed almost like a strange howling of the wind in such a dream. It sounded less like laughter and more like a resonating wooden tube, wind funneling through it and vibrating it like a didjeridoo.

Then they hit something. Graham tripped on it first, the rim of some wooden object, and tripped. He landed in the object with a cushioned thud, Sophia falling on top of him. The collision with the object made it rock and bounce so that Sophia was certain whatever it was it was on water. "Quick Graham, help me push this away from the ground!" she ordered. Graham helped without a question. They felt for the edge of the rock, and on finding it they used all their strength to send it away. The wooden object--which, they were certain, must have been a boat--drifted off into the invisible water in the cold darkness. The last they heard of the monster itself was a frustrated roar, followed by more laughter that seemed to echo forever.

* * *

As soon as she felt safer, Sophia took a deep sigh and leaned back against the edge of the boat, making sure to keep her tail flame away from the wood. It seemed that they had fallen into a current, because the boat continued to move long after it should have stopped. The trickle of water was calm and quiet and very soothing to her mind. Being a Fire Pokemon she didn't exactly like water, but she felt it still had its nurturing qualities. She rested from all the running, and let her mind wander into the future, to figure out what was going to happen. The current had to take them somewhere. She hoped it would take them somewhere safe. She feared it would take them farther and farther away from civilization.

She was almost certain what had chased them was a Sableye--no Pokemon could have such a demented laugh. But it had been an abnormally large Sableye, at least from what she could hear. Perhaps it wasn't a Sableye; if it had, wouldn't her tail flame's light have reflected off of its diamond eyes? Sophia prefered not to think about it, and instead she tried to think about where they might end up. Would they ever escape the cave? "Considering this isn't ground water," she thought aloud, "there's a chance the water leads somewhere. Or rather, it comes from somewhere outside, and as long as there isn't a subterranean lake this river must lead out of this cave too."

Exhausted from the effort of so much running, both of Graham's heads zonked out and shared a dream together. Shared dreams were very nice for Graham, because in them he could understand his tail, who of course thought in English and therefore dreamt in English. He wasn't completely conscious of his dreams, so couldn't actually discuss real world affairs with his tail, but at least it was something.

His dream took place at a starlit meadow. The moon was a perfect crescent and its light revealed hills and hills covered in beautiful flowers. In his dream he was completely human, which made sense because his mind was human. The two heads were seperate people in this dream, but still very good friends. They were almost identical, except his tail's human had razor sharp teeth and had yellow in his eyes where he should have had white.

They sat on a bench that starry night, just hanging out. They had just been to a party, and wished to spend some time outdoors before heading home. "Did you have fun?" Graham's main head asked. "That was some party, huh?"

"Yeah, it was a blast," his tail nodded with a smile. "Nice that we were invited. We'll have to thank her, won't we?"

"Of course! I'll get her a present and everything."

"And I will too. That's a very good idea." Graham's tail shuffled with his pockets and his smile faded. "Hey, Graham?" he asked with a pleading look.

"Yes, Graham?" Graham answered, ready to help his best friend in any way he could.

"I... I think I left my cellphone at home... Do you think I could use your's?"

"Sure thing, but first let me call my parents." Graham buried in his pocket and brought out a yellow-and-brownish black cellphone. He dialed his number, but the phone didn't ring at all. It was empty. "Graham," he slowly and solemnly mourned, "I have no family to call. I don't know where they are, and they aren't answering."

Graham's tail tried and similarly failed to reach his parents. "Hm, I don't know what to say... We could walk to my house, I suppose." He looked around, and his hope was lost. The rolling field of flowers weren't disturbed by anything but their bench, and civilization was nowhere to be seen. "Graham, will we ever find our way home?"

Graham looked out at the sea of flowers and the starry sky. "I don't know. I really don't know."

"I miss my parents already. I hope we can get ahold of them soon."

"I do too... But at least we're together, right?"

"Yes, I suppose so. But where are our other friends? Perhaps we should go back to the party."

"I don't think there will be any party anymore," Graham sighed, looking out at the meadow. "Not unless she shows up."

Graham looked back at his best friend's head, which was no longer a seperate body but was instead just a second head. The body of his tail had merged with his. He looked at his tail's head with a smile of familiarity, which faded into an acknowledgement of the truth. He looked at his hands, which were sprouting small strands of yellow fur, his nails growing and turning blue. His neck extended and mane-like spikes began to poke out from the back of it, while his tail's head slowly descended his back before rising out just above his rump. It rounded out, and was soon lost into a black orb. His feet enlongated and his nails became hooves, and very soon he was but a single Girafarig, lost in a world where humans could not exist. The sky grew brighter, and dawn was coming.

But when he woke from his sad dream nothing changed. The darkness of night was still growing brighter. He sat up, and both his heads looked around. "Check it out, Graham," Sophia smiled. "We're approaching the end of the river."

* * *

Her smile didn't last long. As their craft drifted into a lighter part of the cave, she wasted no time in getting a Flash going. The cave lit up, she and Graham discovered with horror what they had been floating in. It wasn't a boat--it was a coffin. Looking around, other coffins, their lids closed, drifted on the icy river.

The stone walls in the watery tunnel had images of Glalies etched into them. Around the Glalies stood Pokemon skeletons. There were depictions of Lucarios practicing burials and of Dusknoir coming to take away souls to the underworld. Seperating pictures were tall pillars in the shape of Froslass, icicles hanging from every protrusion. The stone eyes of the Froslass seemed to watch Graham and Sophia as their coffin bobbed along the current. Though in the modern day civilized Froslass were typically handmaidens, in the paleolithic world these Ghost Pokemon were revered as the embodiment of death in the icy mountains. The Ancient Snorunts typically placed the women in charge of business in relation to death, knowing that one day they would evolve into Froslass and be experts on all things undead.

Graham and Sophia were almost 100% certain that they had wound up in some sort of ancient tomb. The wall decorations were ancient and crippled, and some of the Froslass statues were missing their limbs. Bones floated in the water near open coffins. A skull seemed to stare directly at Graham's tail, and he cowered in fright. "Sophia," Graham dryly whispered. "Why did I ever let you convince me to come down here?"

"Aw man, Graham, I feel like Lara Croft or something! This is so cool!" Sophia could hardly contain her nervous excitement. "Though at the same time it's also really creepy."

"Nosepass live on Easter Island," nodded Graham's tail in agreement.

"Look, we're approaching some cold, hard ground!" Sophia pointed. Indeed, the coffin was drifting towards a small inlet with a single wooden door. The door was a signal of hope for Graham and Sophia, who now faithfully hoped that beyond the dark brown, wooden door lay society. The coffin slowly drifted to the door, but as they grew close Sophia saw that the river was about to take a sharp turn to the right. "Graham, we'll have to jump."

"What if the door's locked?" Graham asked nervously. "Then we'll be trapped for good."

"Then we'll just have to get it open some other way. It's wooden you know, so I could always burn it down."

"Very true. Alright, I'm with you 100%." They both rose halfway (one shouldn't completely stand on a boat) and prepared themselves for their leap of faith. The door grew nearer and nearer, the current picking up speed... Sophia quickly gave way to Graham.

"Alright Graham, you're a Psychic Pokemon so you should be able to judge when we should jump better than I can. I won't move a muscle until you give the word."

"Right," Graham's two heads nodded. "We'll let you know." Graham waited until he could see his own reflection on the doorknob. As soon as he saw his characteristic yellow-white-and-pink head in the knob's curved surface he yelled, "Jump!" Without a moment to lose Graham kicked his hooves off of the coffin boat and leaped for the small crevice with the door. It was a majestic leap, he decided, as he landed gracefully on his hooves on the hard stone. "Tail, we made it! Nice job! A mountain goat couldn't do better!" he triumphantly exclaimed to his brown companion, who of course had more control over his legs than his main head did. No sooner did he turn around than the coffin hit a fast current and sped around the corner, zooming away. He smiled. "Man, Sophia, did that feel great! I almost wouldn't mind doing that again!" Graham turned around to celebrate with his companion, but his smile dropped. "Sophia?" He couldn't find her. "Sophia!?" Where could she be? He swore he hadn't heard a splash, so she couldn't have fallen in the water. Did she even jump at all? "Tail, can you find her?" he begged. His tail nodded and used Odor Sleuth. Despite not being able to smell by his own, Odor Sleuth allowed him to track an odor to its source, like a bloodhound. With his Psychic powers he spied Sophia's odor, which led around the corner and... "The British are coming!" Graham's tail barked. Graham peeked his main head around the corner of the crevice and saw Sophia clinging to a protrusion in the wall for dear life. She was visibly terrified of the water sloshing just underneath her burning tail. "Sophia!" Graham cried. "Quick, grab my hand!"

"G-Graham!?" the salamander squeaked, edging her face to the left. Graham's hooved hand reached out to take her's and pull her to safety. "What if you can't hold onto me?"

"I only need to pull a little on my own, then you'll be close enough to grab the edge of the crevice with your foot!"

Sophia took a deep breath and tried to be brave. "Okay, I'll try," she whispered. Taking a hand off of the protrusion she suddenly felt herself only barely keeping herself up, her muscles ready to drop her and let her fall into the menacing waters below. As quickly as she could she grabbed Graham's hand and clenched her claws tight into his skin, just to make sure she had a tight grip. The Girafarig made a quick yank, and Sophia immediately reached a foot out to grab the edge of the crevice. Her toes made contact and with Graham's help she pulled herself around and onto solid ground.

"Thanks, I felt like a goner," she huffed. "I never thought I'd like the floor of this cave so much!"

"Limburger cheese?" Graham's tail asked.

"What happened?" Graham's main head translated.

"I jumped when you ordered, but I must have been too far on the right or something. I missed the crevice, if I hadn't grabbed onto that protrusion I would have..."

"Don't think about it. You're okay now."

"Is the door unlocked?"

"I haven't tried it yet. We were too busy looking for you."

"I'm sorry. But quick, let's try the door and see if all our efforts were for nothing." Sophia watched tiredly as Graham moved towards the old wooden door. He grabbed the doorknob and turned it; the door swung open easily. "Well, at least the door's open."

Graham stared into the blackness beyond the door. "Hey Sophia, we're going to need you to use Flash again."

"I'm on it." Sophia stood up, took a deep breath, and flashed a brilliant light into the realm beyond the door. It lit up, revealing more tombs.

"Oh great," Graham sighed in frustration, hanging both his heads in despair. "More tombs."

"Hey, at least we're getting somewhere," Sophia said, trying to keep positive. "Let's check it out."

The catacombs they began to wander in had the same depictions on the walls as outside the door. Every now and then, though, they passed hanging, painted portraits of regal-looking Glalies. "Weren't there any humanoid Glalies?" Graham asked, remarking at the lack of limbs on any of the pictures.

"'Humanoid' Glalies are very hard to come by, especially because Snorunts and Froslass are generally 'humanoid' themselves," Sophia replied. "You can't tell the difference until a Snorunt evolves."

"Hey Sophia, to pass the time while we look for a way out, do you think you can tell me about Glalies? I've always wondered about them."

As Sophia soon detailed, Glalies were the massive evolved forms of Snorunts. Glalies resembled floating black heads with huge razor-sharp horns and a sinister smile of razor-sharp teeth, all contained inside a huge chunk of ice. They were one of the coldest Pokemon in existence, in the same league as Regice and Articuno. Just being in the presence of a Glalie could give a person frostbite, and Glalies were characterized by their ability to freeze the air around them. They had many characteristics of Dark Pokemon, such as specializing in Bite and the strongest Dark attack Crunch, though they weren't Dark ones themselves. Glalies were known in Canada and Russia as the Kings of the North, and indeed the vile Joseph Stalin had been a Glalie. They were all male--though a female Snorunt could evolve into a Glalie too, a Snorunt ritual involved collecting Dawn Stones so as to evolve all female Snorunts into Froslass.

They had just begun to turn a corner at an intersection when Graham's tail let out a scream, followed by barking. "What is it, Tail?" Graham exclaimed, swirling around. Behind them stood a cyclops-like creature made of swirling bandages and fog. It had its two arms outstretched, hands in a clutching position. "Sophia, a Dusclops!" Graham stared straight into the Ghost Pokemon's single eye and demanded, "Who are you?"

"I am the guardian that haunts the Tomb of King Racarsky," replied the Dusclops. It's voice filled Graham with a sense of terror he had never experienced. It was a different kind of terror, a sense of approaching doom. The Dusclops took a step closer, and Graham felt as if he lost a bit of blood, although he didn't really. "I have come to collect."

"Quick Graham, use Odor Sleuth," Sophia whispered to Graham's tail. His tail complied. Odor Sleuth was an ability that also rendered ghosts vulnerable to Normal and Fighting attacks, a handy skill if confronted by a hostile member of the undead.

"What do you mean, collect?" Graham demanded.

"You have trespassed on grounds sacred to the Lord Giratina, and I have come to bring judgement on your souls." The Dusclops took another step forward. "Soon you too shall join the people of the tomb." The Dusclops cackled and launched a Shadow Punch towards the two teenagers.

"Quick, Sophia, get behind me!" Graham demanded. He stood in front of the salamander and prepared to take the blow. The Dusclops' fist passed through him, but did not reach Sophia. Graham's tail quickly bit the fist as it came out of the other side of his body, and his teeth sunk in. The Dusclops howled in pain, but couldn't pull his hand out of Graham's body. "Sophia, you know what to do!" Graham's main head nodded back to his maroon comrade.

"Right," Sophia grinned. She ran around to the front side of Graham and fired a powerful Fire Blast at the Dusclops. It's ribbons burst into a ghostly flame, and the Dusclops vanished from existence. "Graham, are you okay?" Sophia asked before continuing down the hall.

"Couldn't be better," the Girafarig smiled back with both his heads.

* * *

**Author's Note:** I hate to keep spelling things out for non-Pokemon fans, but if you didn't catch what just happened Normal Pokemon such as Graham are immune to Ghost attacks. But Dark attacks such as Bite are strong against Ghosts.


	12. Frozen in Failure

**Chapter 12: Frozen in Failure**

The Dusclops wasn't the last of their troubles. They were attacked several times by Duskulls that floated out of skeletons, more Dusclops, and even a Dusknoir, dreaded Grim Reaper of the Pokemon world. But Graham's immunity to Ghost Pokemon pulled them through every time, and after an hour or two they finally found another door. The door was slightly better looking than the one they had used to enter King Racarsky's tomb, and it too was unlocked. On the other side was a cold, stuffy room, which wasn't too different from the tomb except for the presence of a laundry machine. "Could it be!?" Sophia cheered as soon as she saw the washing machine. She raced over to it and put her hands lovingly on it. "It is! We've escaped! We've escaped!" She ran back and hugged Graham in joy, and the two bounced up and down with glee and excitement.

"Thank _goodness_, I thought I was going to go _crazy_ in there!" Graham exclaimed in relief. "Oh, I never thought I'd live to see a laundry machine!"

"What's that? Who's down there?" a voice suddenly demanded from the top of a wooden set of stairs. A door opened and light--genuine light--flooded into what could only have been the basement. A large Kadabra in a fine suit crept down the stairs and looked around. "It better not be--oh!" His keen eyes spied the Charmeleon girl and Girafarig boy who had invaded his basement. "What are you two doing down here? I demand an answer!" he ordered, a low Japanese accent on his voice.

"Please sir," Sophia answered, putting her girly charm on, "we were lost in the tomb outside your basement! We've only just found our way out! Can you tell us where we are?"

The Kadabra was briefly dumbfounded, but soon complied. "Yes, my dear, I can. You are in the basement of Magic Manor, the great mansion owned by me, the Count Yamazaki!" Sophia and Graham exchanged a look of insecurity, unsure whether they were safe or in danger. The Count sensed this, and carefully added, "...you can call me 'Count.' As long as you are in my house, please allow me to offer you two some refreshments?" Remembering what his last guests were like, the Count was hesistant to so openly welcome the intruders; but they looked harmless enough, so he did his best to be hospitable.

Sophia and Graham's two heads all nodded, and so Count Yamazaki led the two upstairs and into the drawing room. It was dimly lit. The curtains were drawn, and the only light available apart from Sophia's tail flame were a few candles on the mantle. The room was cold, so cold Graham could see his own breath. He shivered and kept close to Sophia. Looking around, the drawing room had a grim and Gothic style to it. There were portraits of Psychic and Ghost Pokemon, as well as a statue in the corner of a Spiritomb. Just looking at it put shivers up Graham's spine. Count Yamazaki could tell, and he tried to ease Graham's mind.

"That is a statue of the guardian spirit of this mansion. It sits somewhere in the tombs beneath the mansion, the Great Spiritomb of the Rocky Mountains. Long ago, the creators of the tomb placed it there to keep evil away; a lot of good that has done us of late," he added, trailing off in thought. Snapping out of it, he smiled. "Well now, let's get some drinks, shall we?" He clapped twice, and a ghost dropped from the ceiling. It wore a butler's uniform. It's red eyes watched its master with gleaming malice, and its zipped-up mouth reminded Sophia of a psychopath. It was a Pokemon Graham wasn't entirely familiar with, a Banette. Banettes existed as poltergeists seeking vengeance on boys and girls who discard their toys. They were truly evil creatures, the objects of children's nightmares, who drained the life out of children they crossed. It was very suspicious that one was lurking around the mansion, especially if it was under the guidance of the Count. "Winston," the Count ordered, "please bring us some glasses and a pitcher of water."

The Banette bowed, replying, "Why of course, Master. As you wish."

As the Banette left to fetch the drinks, the Count motioned for Graham and Sophia to sit down on some Victorian armchairs. "It was a stroke of luck to come across that Banette," the Count smiled as he himself sat down in a chair specially made to compensate for his enormous tail. He looked at his spoon idley, wandering in his memories. "I found him possessing a small toy years ago. I took the Shuppet in, and found myself an excellent servant when he evolved."

"Aren't you a bit worried having a Banette around the house? Don't you think it's a bit...dangerous?" Sophia asked, curling her tail so that it didn't light the old furniture on fire.

"At first I kept an eye on him, but he's so well behaved that I don't give him a second thought nowadays. He hardly says a word, but I think he likes it here. It's much better than the tombs, anyway, especially because he doesn't like Dusclops."

"Speaking of Dusclops," Graham cut in, "we happened to encounter one of them while we were down there."

"Oh did you?" the Kadabra replied with a raised eyebrow. "I wouldn't doubt it. They are so protective over their territory! You know, just the other day I had to chase a few Duskull out of my basement. They had come in and were insisting that my laundry machine was a captured Rotom and that it belonged with them. They wouldn't leave until I proved to them that my laundry machine was indeed not possessed and wasn't just paralyzed. 'Giratina will be merciless with your soul if you don't hand us that Rotom!' they threatened at first, but by the time I was through with them they were quiet and unwilling to apologize even though they accepted their defeat." The Count smiled in thought, then took a deep breath and clasped his yellow hands, intertwining the fingers in deep seriousness. "Now then," he began, looking deep into the children's eyes in a manner characteristic of Psychic types, "I'm only going to say this once, and I would like you to answer truthfully as if you life depended on it. Now, I want you to tell me who you are, and I want to know what you were doing in my basement."

Sophia and Graham shared a glance of momentary hesitation, but Sophia quickly tried to hide it. Taking a deep breath she nodded, "Yes, yes, we'll answer truthfully. I so reason why we shouldn't; we don't have anything to hide--do we, Graham?" The Girafarig shook his two heads, so Sophia continued. "I am Sophia Flarison, daughter of Dr. Roger Flarison, a Pokemon Professor. And this," she nodded, gesturing towards Graham, "is a friend of mine who's staying with us. His name is Graham Hopkins."

"I see," the Count nodded. "And you are...from the town a few miles from here?"

"Well..."

"I certainly hope not," the Count smiled with a gleam in his wicked eye. "The Pokemon Professor in that town is a Gengar. I'm pretty sure Gengars can't produce Charmeleons."

"Well then we definitely aren't from that town," Sophia quickly explained. "I'm not exactly sure where we are, but it couldn't be that town. If we're anywhere near where we came from, we certainly aren't from around here."

"And where _is_ it that you came from? I'm finding it hard to follow your logic."

"We came from the Dancer's Castle. But we don't live around there, my father's town is certainly not in the mountains."

"Ah, so you're a couple miles away from home. Or at least, a couple miles away from the castle. Dancer's Castle is in a nearby county; we only hear the stories of Lady Valkyrie's antics on the news. Which isn't saying much, because I'm out of the way from the nearest settlement and I don't have a television."

"A couple of miles?" Graham let out with a groan. "Aw man!"

"And how exactly did you get to my basement from the ice palace, hm?" The Count wasn't buying it.

"Well, I'm not sure I understand it myself." Sophia paused before continuing. "Our household was staying in the village by the castle because we were investigating the disappearance of Lady Valkyrie's daughter."

"Yes, I heard about that much."

"Well, Graham and I decided to help out, and when one of the search team's Swinubs found this one hole in the base of the castle... Well, I persuaded Graham to investigate it with me. We went deeper and deeper and deeper... And then we arrived in this one dark cave, and we were chased by some monster; I think it was a Sableye, but I'm not sure."

"Really?" The Count had heard of a dark cave near the tomb. A monster was supposed to have lived in it, so he himself had never investigated it.

"Yes, and as unbelievable as it sounds we managed to escape it while blinded by darkness. And we crossed through an underground river in a coffin, and after a while we found a door. There was a tomb on the other side of it... But after wandering through it for a while, we managed to get here."

"That's the short version," Graham added, hoping that it would help support their story in some way.

"In any case, we never really succeeded in what we set out to accomplish. We saw no hide nor hair of the Smoochum princess, and I doubt that any little girl could survive a trip through that labyrinth." Sophia took a deep sigh and looked at the floor, ashamed of what she had done. "I suppose I got us into a big mess all for nothing."

At the sight of her shame, the Count softened up a little. "There there, it isn't that bad. I have a phone, so you'll still be able to call your father and tell him where you are. And I have a bit of information I think you'll like." He smiled a warm smile, and all the cold air around him seemed to melt away. Kadabras had a bad image of being vile wizards because of their intimidating faces, but the Count's smile just then was so good that it proved the stereotype wrong instantly. It radiated safety and kindness, and there wasn't a soul on Earth that wouldn't feel safe after looking at that smile.

At that moment Winston the Banette returned, floating through one of the walls and accompanied by two Shuppets. The pre-evolution of Banette, a Shuppet resembled something of a purple floating drapery with a pointy protrustion at the top. Its blue and yellow eyes were less malevolent than a Banette's, but hinted of a lust for vengeance upon those who abandon their loved ones. Winston's presence provided great contrast to the Count. The Banette's smile, little more than a zipped-up mouth curved in the shape of an arc, seemed wicked and plotting.

Winston bowed. "Your beverages, honored guests," the Banette said with evil politeness. With slight enthusiasm and a bit of a chuckle in his young, overly posh voice he added, "With the frightfully cold weather we've been having, I thought a nice warm drink would ease your minds. I had the chef prepare two hot cocoas made with the finest chocolate, imported directly from Belgium." He gestured to the Shuppets (who had balanced on their head spikes the platters carrying the drinks), which hovered down to Graham and Sophia and offered large mugs filled with a steaming drink. "You'll find on top hand-made whipped cream," Winston continued, "prepared cold so as to cool the hot cocoas to the perfect drinking temperature. Both the chocolate drink and the whipped cream were made with fresh Grade A MooMoo Milk, which contains a healing remedy to put you both back into tip-top shape. There was not a single second between the completion of these drinks and my collection of them, so they are at the pinickle of freshness." Graham and Sophia both took their respective mugs from the Shuppets' platters, and one of the Shuppets continued to the Count to offer him his hot cocoa, which he graciously took. "I do hope you enjoy your hot cocoas," Winston added with a final bow. It seemed that he too was a facade; despite his wicked eyes and haunting presence, he too was warm and kind like the Count. Winston turned to the Count and asked, "Is there anything more you would like me to do?"

"Yes, Winston," the Count nodded, taking a sip of his hot chocolate. "I would like you to have the maids tidy up two of the guest rooms in case these two have to stay for the night."

"Gladly, my master." Winston bowed, and he and the two Shuppets left through the ceiling.

"Well?" the Count said, raising the hand with his mug into the air. "Drink up, before it gets cold! I'm eager to tell you what I know!" Sophia and Graham looked at eachother for a moment, then nodded and took a sip of their hot chocolate. Both of them quickly exclaimed in awe that their drinks were delicious, but the Count motioned for them to be quiet so that he could talk. With his spoon he gestured at a portait on the mantle of the fireplace, which depicted a well-dressed but frowning Alakazam. "My ancestor, Lord Yamazaki, the first Yamazaki to be born in America, used his vast wealth to build this mansion up from scratch. He was a very serious man--he never laughed once in his entire life. But he was also very powerful, and using his influence he had his son marry into the family from which both I and Lady Valkyrie descend. At the time, the Valkyrie Family was in conflict with the ghosts and spirits inside the tomb underneath Dancer's Castle; though the Jynx and their husbands were the new masters of the castle, the spirits of the previous Glalie kings insisted that they should rule the castle. Now, Leon Yamazaki, Lord Yamazaki's son, felt that neither sides were in error and something really had to be done. He attempted to compromise with the ghosts, but they were so full of hatred that they would not listen and became violent. In an effort to protect the lives of all those in and around the castle, Leon asked Lord Yamazaki for help. Lord Yamazaki used his mighty Psychic powers to seal away the castle's end of the tomb, but when he discovered that his mansion was right above part of the tomb he decided to leave his end open, to keep an eye on the dangerous creatures. Leon Yamazaki's son and daughter obtained a Spiritomb while they were away on a business trip one day, and old Lord Yamazaki felt the Spiritomb would make a better guard than he would. So now the Spiritomb quells the evil in the tomb, leaving the descendants of the Yamazakis to live in peace. I'm quite sure, though, that with my cousin's daughter missing, peace is there no longer.

"So, what importance is all this, you may ask? It explains why the princess came here. She's my cousin's daughter, and probably was told at some point in her life about the tomb connecting our homes. I cannot imagine why she would come to see me, but..."

"So you saw her?" Sophia burst. "Where?"

"I... She..."

"Where is she, Count? Lady Valkyrie's going crazy looking for her!"

"She's gone." Sophia went pale, and Graham slammed his hand on the arm of his chair in frustration. "She came, from the very same door as you did. I caught her immediately, and asked her why she would attempt something so dangerous. She would not explain, only that she had no intention of going back to her mother. I honestly wasn't going to take that for an answer, and was going to call my cousin Lady Valkyrie and let her know, but..." The Count took a deep breath. "She threatened me. I did not believe my ears. She openly threatened me, if I told her mother where she was she would find a way to make my life miserable. I'd rather not relate to you what she said; a child should not be heard saying those things. She probably learned it from her father."

"But why is she gone?"

"I'm getting to that, I'm getting to that! Not wishing to let her act out her threats, I instead let her stay for a while at my mansion until I figured out what to do. I thought that was the best idea; but, as it turns out, it wasn't. A few days later, I was met at the door by a German Crobat who demanded I hand Catherine over immediately. I put up a struggle, but a Lickylicky was with him and paralyzed me with a Lick. In my moment of weakness, they came inside and took her. This was only a day or two ago."

"So I guess in the end she really was kidnapped," Graham sighed.

"And we've been on a wild goose chase this entire time," Sophia added.

Depressed in the failure of their efforts, Graham and Sophia said little more that evening. They took the Count up on his offer for them to spend the night, and after half an hour they slowly climbed the stairs to their beds. As they passed a window, Sophia looked out. Despite how cold the hall was, it seemed even more unbearable outside. The weather had taken a turn for the worse, and a blizzard had started up. It was hard even to make out the pinetrees standing just outside the mansion. So cold, so distant... Sophia felt she had failed everybody. Lady Valkyrie, Graham, her father... Her entire mission had led them in a full circle, with little to no clues and a lot of close calls. The warmth in her heart was fading, it seemed that only coldness could exist in these Northwestern mountains.

The Count led them to the door. "I'll be just down the hall if you need anything," he said quietly. "I hope you have at least a somewhat good night. Just you wait, you'll see your father in no time, I'll call him first thing tomorrow. Everything will be alright." He took a great bow, said his good nights, and spoon in hand he turned and walked to his room. Sophia and Graham looked at each other with defeated smiles, glad that at least they would see their family. They creaked open the door and soon found themselves in bed, each wondering what would happen next. Despite their worries the day had left them exhausted, and both of them fell almost instantly asleep.

* * *

That same night, Lady Valkyrie stared out one of the windows of her Grand Library. A snow fell heavily, attacking the ground with quantity over quality. It didn't matter which snowflake it was, what the snowflake thought, what it did. Nothing could stop it from freefalling until smashing into the ground, joining so many fallen snowflakes in a pile until the snowflake was given up to oblivion. Whatever good the snowflake had done, whether it be as a drop of water giving life to a parched Pokemon or making the water level in a Chemistry student's graduated cylinder just enough to get an A, didn't matter now. It was falling, and nothing was going to save it. It's fate was sealed.

The castle library was void of any living thing, save for Lady Valkyrie and Goliath, watching as the snow, masters of the frozen sky, plummeted to the base of the mountains below to their doom. Neither said a word. Goliath was often incapable of thinking deep emotional thoughts, refraining its mind to the here and now. But the cold, stressed look on Lady Valkyrie's face gave her away. She was worried, even more worried than she had been before. Not only had she lost her daughter, but now she had lost two more children. And they had only one clue as to where Graham and Sophia could have gone: a tunnel leading to a place she dreaded, the tombs beneath the castle. Many people weren't sure whether the two were alive or not. Dr. Flarison was full of fear for his daughter, and full of worry for his adopted son. It was a major distraction, for now it would take even longer to find Catherine. Lady Valkyrie had to keep telling herself not to be angry with Graham and Sophia; after all, they didn't turn her in when she revealed her crimes, so she had to do her best to pay them back with kindness. But it was hard; her thoughts kept returning to Catherine, who very well may have also found the tomb that Lady Valkyrie had tried so hard to hide. She didn't know what to do; her world was collapsing around her.

Taking a deep, icy breath, she turned away from the snow and looked for a book to read. She eventually came across a book of Greek Myths. "This will take my mind off of things," she said to herself. Not even bothering to use her Psychic powers, she took the book off the shelf and opened it. The old, crumbling pages were brittle from the cold, and she had to be careful not to rip them. She opened onto the Table of Contents, and unable to choose which myth to read she decided to use her powers to open to a random story. The pages turned, and she arrived at the tale of Icarus, the Bagon boy who flew too close to the sun. She knew the story pretty well, but sat herself back in her chair by the icy window and read by the lamplight. As she read, her hands began to tremble. Icarus wouldn't listen; no matter how much his father tried to keep him safe, Icarus flew to the sun anyway. His father was unable to stop his deathly fall to the waters below, silencing his happy spirit forever.

Lady Valkyrie slammed the book shut, placed it on her desk, and abruptly stood. "Goliath, come. I no longer wish to be in this room," she coldly explained. She stepped slowly out of the room, turning her desk lamp off with her mind. As Goliath turned to follow, she took one last look at the window. Through the torrent of snow, she saw a giant blue bird fly by her window in the distance. Lady Valkyrie quickly turned her head away from the window and cried.


	13. The Residents of Magic Manor

**A Note from the Author: **It's been a while since the last chapter, eh? After you've read this, be sure to check out the first and second chapters--I've revised them and improved them, so I'm sure you'll enjoy it. There's a few changes in their plotline too, so I'd recommend at least seeing what's different.

This chapter would have been up far sooner, but actually after two or so months of being stuck I scrapped the entire chapter except for the first section. Then I rewrote it completely different, and got stuck again. So rather than keep getting stuck, I truncated the chapter and removed the original revision's ending in favor of just improving what already was written as opposed to writing more. In total, I've revised this chapter about four times. Talk about tiring. But it's paid off, wiring this chapter more than 6,700 words.

I hope you enjoy the chapter, and please review it if you read it!

* * *

**Chapter 13: The Residents of Magic Manor**

Late that night, Lady Valkyrie received a phone call. She hadn't had a wink of sleep, and had been sitting in her nightgown on the edge of her bed, staring out of her window in restless, frozen turmoil. She had experienced a jolt of surprise when in the phone on the side of her bed began to ring in the dark, quiet room. It's ringing was worse than a Loudred using Uproar. It was normally a pleasant tune by Tchaikovsky, Lady Valkyrie being a fan of Russian classical music, but in the bleak, ice cold silence its ringing seemed like an Exploud screaming right next to her ear. Instead of picking it up immediately, the governess only stared at the phone hesitantly. A midnight call was anything but safe, she recalled, yet her Psychic powers didn't detect anything hostile. She reminded herself she was a powerful, strong-minded woman that could handle anything as small as a phone call. With newfound confidence the Jynx reached for the phone and picked it up. Despite her resolve, it was nonetheless a relief when her cousin the Count Yamazaki was found to be on the other end of the line. "Hello, is this the Lady Valkyrie?" he politely asked upon the phone being answered. Lady Valkyrie instantly recognized his familiar voice and snapped out of her stupor.

"Yes, this is her. It's a pleasure to hear from you, Houdin, it's been a while," she added with a slight smile.

"Same to you, Olga," the Count replied, "but I'm afraid I'm not hear to talk pleasure. I have a bit of news you may be relieved to hear, if you will hear it."

"Why Houdin, how can relief not be pleasure at a time like this?" Lady Valkyrie chuckled. "What is it, what do you have to tell me?"

"Well, a Girafarig and Charmeleon recently arrived at my house, and they say they're from your town."

"That would probably be Graham and Sophia! How are they, are they alright?"

"Yes, they're fine. I let them stay the night, they're sleeping right now."

"...you didn't happen to see anybody else recently, did you?" the governess' voice cracked.

Count Yamazaki hesitated before replying. "No, nobody out of the ordinary."

"...oh, that's...unfortunate." There was a brief moment of embarrassing silence. Neither the Count nor Lady Valkyrie could think of anything to say. They both sat in their dark rooms, staring out their windows each in their own thoughts. Finally, Lady Valkyrie broke the awkward silence. "Houdin," she said, "it's very late you know. I'm very pleased that you called about the children, but why so late at night? I was half expecting to hear my daughter on the phone."

"Well... I've just been doing a lot of thinking. That's all. I was busy thinking, and didn't get to calling you until afterwards."

"What have you been thinking about?" Lady Valkyrie's stomach of ice flipped; she knew that that answer always meant the count didn't want to talk about it. And she could almost expect the answer to her question too.

"I've been thinking about...well, the weather. Awfully chilly tonight." Another moment of silence, though only brief. "My new butler's been having a hard time in this weather. He's an Ursaring, you know. They normally are hibernating this time of the year."

Lady Valkyrie sighed with a hint of annoyance. "Yes, that's all very interesting. Well, Houdin, thank you for calling. I'll send Dr. Flarison to collect them tomorrow. But for now, I think I should like to sleep. Good night, Houdin."

"And a very good night to you, Olga Valkyrie. A _very_ good night."

The white phone clicked as the Jynx hung up and placed it back on the receiver. On the bright side, she had two less people to worry about, but on the other hand... Lady Valkyrie urgently needed to know how Graham and Sophia had wound up at her cousin's mansion. Her daughter's life possibly depended on it.

* * *

Sophia was the first to wake that morning. Outside the blizzard had subsided and the sun was shining in the early morning sky. In the light of the day, Sophia was struck by the extent of the Magic Manor's elegance. The windows of the small room were in fact large stained glass windows, colored light flooding through their glass. Sophia looked at her tail flame feeling rather cheated; her flame couldn't make such dazzling displays. She took a deep breath and stretched, extending her maroon arms as far as she could above her head and pulling her feet as far as she could from her body. It felt awfully good, and relaxed her tense muscles. Deciding to let Graham sleep a little longer, she slowly dropped her bare feet to the cold wooden floor and pushed herself up from her bed. Suddenly she realized how warm she was, and hurriedly pulled off her parka and dropped it on her bed. In lighter clothing, she took another deep breath and crept across the room. Some Pokemon were capable of doing this skillfully, but she was not one of them. Her clawed feet clicked on the creaking old wood, and the creaks to her sounded like loud crunching sounds. Doing her best to not wake up Graham, she whispered "good morning" to his half-awake tail and slipped out of the room. The last thing to pass through the door was her flickering tail flame, and when it was gone the room fell into dark shadows.

The narrow hallway she entered was quiet and empty. Sophia felt she could hear the air itself echoing as it bounced off the walls. Though the hallway itself was windowless, light from the windows over the nearby staircase kept the darkness out of the hall. Spots that continued to be dark were illuminated by Sophia's tail. She made less of an attempt to sneak around and stood up straight. Her tail limply dropped to the cool floor, with only the tip raised to avoid setting the wood on fire. "Thank Arceus I have scales," Sophia almost mutely whispered, thinking of all the splinters she otherwise could get with her tail dragging on the floor. The doorknob of the bedroom, as it turned out, was quite dusty, so she paused for a moment to wipe the dust caught on her hand onto her jeans before descending the staircase. The dust left a grey print on her pant sleeve, but she didn't mind. On the other hand, a little exploration of the mansion, she thought, wouldn't be too bad.

At the foot of the staircase she arrived in the entry hall. Across from the old wooden stairs was a large and very grand-looking double wooden door, leading outside into the cold winter world. Underneath the staircase was a small closet too small for Sophia to fit in, and to the left and right of the stairs were rooms to explore. Sophia picked the one on the right, and found herself in what appeared to be the dining room. A long, polished wooden table preoccupied most of the room, with ordinary wooden chairs lining it and a large Kadabra-sized chair at the end. Two china cabinets sat in the far corner of the room. Sophia was always curious about the fine art one could find in other people's houses, so she didn't hesitate to peer into the cabinet windows. Inside one of the cabinets were expensive-looking dishware, depicting Lickitungs and Snorlaxes enjoying a Thanksgiving feast, but inside the other one was a collection of dolls. From far away they looked like ordinary ragdolls that a young girl might have owned, but something didn't seem quite right about them. Sophia stopped to take a close look at them. There were a variety of dolls, including Clefairy Dolls and other Pokemon-themed dolls, but they all looked like they hadn't been loved for decades. Some were torn, their fabric's colors unsaturated and dirty. Sophia shivered as she noted their disturbing faces, which instead of having normal Pokemon faces instead had malicious renditions of them, twisted and warped to a hideous degree. One of them, a large Hypno doll, looked so malevolent that Sophia had to look away. "This one must be that Banette butler, and those must be the Shuppets," Sophia muttered under her breath in repulsion. "They're probably asleep, possessing their creepy little dolls. And as soon as night comes around, they'll be up and at 'em, ready to haunt us all once more."

Connecting to the dining room was the kitchen, which had another door leading outside. From the dining room the Charmeleon could smell something tasty, and she quickly moved in the direction of the kitchen. Standing outside, Sophia found little of interest in the kitchen, but once inside it she gasped at its bizarrity. "This place just isn't made for a Fire Type," Sophia sighed, shaking her head in dismay. She looked at the refrigerator, which hung from a wall out of her hand's reach. "Unless you can fly or do stuff with your mind, there's no _way_ you could manage this kitchen!" The dishes assumably from dinner last night (which Sophia and Graham did not have; either they missed it or the Count had it after they had gone to bed) were magically flying in the air, cleaning themselves from a sink hanging upside-down from the ceiling.

Not wishing to give herself a headache, Sophia turned to make her way back to the entry hall when she heard a loud crash above her. She dove out of the kitchen in fear the old ceiling would fall, but she soon found out that it had not even cracked. Not long after the sound, however, there was a thumping that moved along the ceiling and out of earshot. Sophia moved in the direction the sound went, all the way back to the entry hall. There she found Count Yamazaki walking down the stairs, dressed in a blue pinstripe nightgown and wearing a small cap on his head. "Good morning!" he whispered, smiling warmly and making his way carefully down the steps. "I have to descend these stairs slowly," he explained. "My huge tail is so heavy that if I ran down these steps I'd lose my balance and fall!"

"Count Yamazaki, did you hear that noise?" Sophia asked with concern. "Is something wrong?"

"No!" the Count huffed. "Not for you, anyway. My butler--a different one than the one from last night--woke me up, giving me the scare of my life saying that there was somebody roaming about downstairs. In fright I fell right out of bed!"

"That must have been the loud crashing sound I heard. You sleep right above the kitchen."

"Yes, I know! All the delicious smells go straight up the ventilation and into my room. But anyway, my butler quickly explained that it was a Charmeleon, and of course I was instantly annoyed; it was, after all, a false alarm!"

"Then why are you coming down anyway?" Sophia walked to the foot of the stairs and held her hand out to help the Count, whose three-fingered hands had nothing to hold but the rail. The Count waved her off.

"Oh no, I don't need help!" he grumbled. "I'm only 67, I'm not old! I came down because I decided it was so far into the morning that it would be best if I just avoided going back to sleep. I've come down for some breakfast. Would you care to join me?"

"How're you going to get anything to eat from that kitchen? Everything's out of reach!"

"Ah! So you've seen the kitchen, eh?" Count Yamazaki gave a dry chuckle. "It's made for the ghosts so they can easily access whatever they need without worrying about clutter. But I have no trouble getting what I want. I have a system in this mansion set up so that all I have to do is picture what I want in my head and it comes straight to me. Rather innovative, I think."

Sophia nodded, amazed at how much sense everything made to her now and secretly a bit annoyed that she was the only person she knew of in the entire mansion that was incapable of getting anything from the refridgerator. She walked with Count Yamazaki into the dining room, making sure to keep her tail flame away from the fur on the Count's tail. The Count sat himself down in the irregularly large chair at the end of the table and Sophia sat down to his side, slipping her tail through the hole in the back of her chair. "So, what would you like?" the Count smiled. "I can have it ready in a few minutes."

"Well, can you make pancakes?"

"Certainly," the Count nodded. "Though I must add that I can't eat them myself. They aren't good for my weight, I prefer just eating some cereal."

"Well you definitely have the equipment for it," Sophia grinned, nodding towards the Count's cherished spoon.

"Oh! Why, you're right!" the Count returned, a smile crossing from wrinkled cheek to wrinkled cheek.

* * *

Graham stood in the bedroom, wide awake. He had risen immediately after the loud crash, and had jolted onto his hooves in preparation for trouble. "Roasted blue pineapples?" his tail inquisitively muttered.

"I don't know what it was, Tail," Graham's main head responded. "Keep your eyes open." Slowly he crept to the door and placed his ear against it. He was silent, listening. "Do you hear anything, Tail?" he whispered.

"Tubas," his tail replied, shaking his head.

"Alright. On the count of three. One... Two... Three!" Graham swung the door open and bravely charged into the hallway. It was empty, devoid of life, with the sounds of a squabble echoing down the hall. The squabble wasn't furious but rather casual, consisting of a scolding and apologies. "I suppose it isn't anything important," he muttered. "Otherwise Sophia would probably be here." He looked around just in case. He was alone in the corridor. "Come on, let's go freshen up."

Almost instinctively, the two heads located the washroom in a matter of seconds. Inside, the yellowish light above the sink gave the room a warm, comforting feeling. "Hmm, looking sharp today, Tail," Graham's main head grinned, looking himself over in the mirror.

"A tequila!" his tail complimented back.

"Why thank you." It wasn't long before both his heads were laughing, glad to be able to joke after such a dark journey. After calming down the Girafarig turned a knob to get the faucet running. He dipped his hands into the cool water coming from the sink faucet and cupped them. As soon as he collected enough water he drew his hands up and splashed all the water onto his face. "You're next, Tail," he announced while he collected somemore water. He turned his rear around slightly and lifted himself onto tip-toe as best he could (it was a seriously difficult feat when you stood on only two toe-nails per foot) so his tail could get his head up above the sink. His tail quickly bobbed his head in the collected water, just in time before Graham lost his balance and returned his hooves firmly to the ground. The two proceeded then to make use of the toilet.

Faces clean and bladder empty, the boy moved to leave the washroom. He stopped abruptly at the open door, which shouldn't have been open in the first place. A massive creature towered in the doorway, watching him. "Who are you?" Graham slowly asked, finding himself at a sudden loss of words, the stout man staring into his eyes. The man was dressed in a morbid black suit and plain black pants, and stood upright with his hands stiffly behind his back. He was an Ursaring, the Pokemon equivalent of the North American grizzly bear, and like one he was enormous. Despite standing firmly on his heels and having a short neck, the bear stood at eye level even with Graham's long neck and unguligrade stance in consideration. His entire body sans his muzzle was covered in thick brown fur, poking out in clusters at the cuffs of his suit and pants. His heavy eyebrows were sculpted into a frown. Beneath his unmoving eyes were dark rings, indicating his need for sleep; Ursarings typically hibernated in the winter.

"My name is Joseph Muller," he flatly stated, but in a way that made it seem he would have introduced himself whether Graham had asked or not. There was almost no melody in his voice; it did not raise or lower in volume and it hardly ever raised or lowered in pitch. "I am the daytime butler of Count Yamazaki as of last week." The man had a heavy accent that sounded like a mixture of German and Russian. His expression did not change at any time when he spoke; it remained just as stern as a statue the entire time. It didn't take long for Graham to realize his natural Girafarig instincts were reacting like crazy. He felt his tail struggling with itself not to begin biting things. Muller's intimidating stare seemed horribly wrong, and Graham was pretty sure Girafarigs weren't Ursaring prey. Pretty sure, at least. Muller didn't seem to notice the boy's inner conflict. "I was just checking on how you were doing."

"Oh," Graham trailed off, terribly disturbed by Muller's piercing glare and formidable girth. The man was dressed so uptight and grim he looked as if he was off to a funeral. Worse yet, it felt like the funeral was going to be that of a poor Girafarig. The perpetual frown on Muller's sleep-deprived face bothered even Graham's tail, who whimpered quietly and hid behind Graham's bossom.

"And?"

"A-And what?" Graham stuttered, jumping almost at the sudden reply. He was beginning to wonder where Sophia was, and why she wasn't here to save him.

"How are you doing?"

"Oh. Uh, we're doing alright..."

"Very good." Muller didn't move a single inch from where he stood in the doorway. Graham hoped the lumbering mass couldn't see him trembling. With only a second of pause, Muller asked, though it felt almost like a demand, "And what do you plan to do now?" Not even Muller's chocolate brown fur seemed to move when he spoke. Either he was the most trained and disciplined of butlers, or Muller was the child of living statues. Graham could smell his bad bear breath. He felt like he was talking to a stuffed grizzly bear at a museum. The Ursaring looked like he could tear him apart if he were angry.

Desperate to find a way out, Graham came up with an excuse that he thought would work. "We're, uh, going to have a look around the house, I suppose..."

"You are going to tour the mansion. Very good. And I shall be your guide, yes?" His chest didn't even move when he breathed.

It was like subtly being asked to be shown to his grave. Graham shook his main head. He didn't want to anger Muller, but he certainly did not want to have to remain in the presence of the butler any longer than he had to. He liked the Banette better. "Oh no, you don't have to go through--"

"Very well, I shall be your guide on your tour," Muller forcefully interrupted as flatly as everything else. "Come with me, Mr. Hopkins, we shall see the library." The grizzly bear didn't only stand like a gargoyle; he moved like a clockwork soldier. Muller turned almost mechanically in a ninety degree angle to face the stairs. He walked in perfect rhythm, his steps always landing exactly the same distance apart. Graham noted Muller's feet. Despite his serious outfit, his bear feet were too big for shoes and so he, like so many other Pokemon, walked barefoot (because of the variety of different feet, shoes were generally limited to the Humanoid Pokemon such as Mr. Mime or Machamp, although most Fighting Pokemon preferred being barefoot anyway). His furry feet looked lethal, with claws so sharp they could rip through a couch.

As they crossed the hallway to the stairs, Graham looked about the hallway once more. The greyish haze of the light bouncing off the old wooden walls was bleak and unfriendly. The wind outside was audible through the walls, and it echoed hauntingly throughout the corridor. The far end of the hallway, dominated by a large set of double doors and a sharp turn to the right, was dark and forbidding. Graham's tail gulped and looked up at his main head, and they exchanged expressions of defeat. Muller began descending the steps without even turning around to see if the boy was following him, seemingly expectant that he do as he was told. Graham felt he had no choice but to follow the bulky man down the stairs, otherwise risk being struck by the terrible weapons on the bear's hands and feet. His primal instincts were bouncing off the walls so madly, he found it difficult to focus on anything else no matter how hard he tried. He had not felt this sense of danger since the nighttime attack back in the village, and even then it was not this strong and commanding. At the bottom of the stairs, so focused were his instincts on Muller, Graham hardly noticed Sophia or the Count in the dining room nearby, though in all fairness they were out of view. Muller took Graham in the other direction and into the living room.

Though the living room seemed a bit friendlier in the daytime, an odd chill still swept over Graham as long as he stood in it. There were paintings on the wall that made him want to hide behind the covers. Traditional Japanese paintings and scrolls hung from the walls in places. One particular one, a portrait of a Whiscash shogun, seemed to watch Graham so scrutinizingly that he shuddered as he walked. Glancing at the fireplace, he nearly jumped a mile. Where the fireplace should have been was a menacing face, about ready to devour any soul that came too close. Graham's tail calmed his main head down and suggested he look again. The fireplace, Graham realized, was decorated to look like a Gengar's mouth, grinning wide in preparation for some wicked attack. Cobwebs hung from the old corners of the ceiling. Graham swore he saw a small Spinarak watching him.

They made their way across into another narrow hallway, still along the outside rim of the mansion. Muller solemnly pointed out a bathroom, with a large pewter toilet made to accommodate Count Yamazaki's incredibly thick tail. In a small glass cabinet by the sink's mirror were two rows of clean, polished spoons. Muller explained the Count had them in case he broke his current spoon or had need of a fresh spoon. But that was all he said on the matter, and it was only a single minute before they left the bathroom. They continued through the hall until they reached the end. An ordinary (though antique) wooden door stood at the end of the hall, engraved with an image of a Hypno "hypnotizing" the people outside. Muller reached out a single, furry, dangerous hand and turned the doorknob. The two of them stepped into a library that Graham immediately found to be far less breathtaking than Lady Valkyrie's, but with a sense of mystery and magic. Graham was briefly distracted from Muller's huge muscles by the bewitched books, which flew from shelf to shelf, sorting themselves. A few large stained glass windows and a single wide clear window against a wall allowed light to shine in on the many rows of bookshelves and onto the red carpet. Considering their location, the light made no sense; this side of the house should have been in shadows, but Graham could only conclude that this was a mystery to join the books. Looking around, he discovered a few things of interest in the middle of the room's interior wall: a large double door, similar in appearance to the one upstairs, and the only door he'd seen on the first floor leading deeper into the mansion. A portrait of Lady Valkyrie grimly hung on the wall to the left of the door, a portrait of an unknown Mr. Mime to the right. If there was any place in the mansion to explore, it was through this door. Catching his interest, Muller monotonously lectured, "That door leads into the Inner Mansion. Those are portraits of the Count's cousin, Governess Valkyrie, as well as her husband Ex-Governor Valkyrie. My Master is very fond of his cousin, and there are portraits of her throughout the mansion. None, however, are as great or beautiful as this one." Muller observed the two portraits with a gleam in his eye, though whether it was appreciation or something much more sinister Graham couldn't tell. The portrait of Lady Valkyrie displayed the Jynx sitting at her writing desk in her room, with an evening sky looming through the window behind her. She appeared younger than how Graham had last seen her, and was dressed in an elegant, almost ghostly, white lattice gown. Despite her seemingly younger age, her face was as powerful as ever, even in painting form. Her cold eyes seemed to cast a frosted stare straight down at Graham's two heads, freezing their inner souls on sight. Her mouth was frowning slightly. Graham got the opposite impression from the other portrait. Governor Valkyrie seemed much less formidable than his ex-wife. He was dressed in a suit similar to Muller's, and was similarly sitting at his writing desk, albeit in the other direction. His face was hideously pale, with rosy clown cheeks and curly blue hair unsuccessfully combed back. His bony arms and legs gave him the look of a very frail and timid man, skinny even for a Mr. Mime, with wide, cautious eyes. Graham was surprised Lady Valkyrie could have been so easily tricked and cheated by Governor Valkyrie; from how he appeared, Lady Valkyrie could have easily clobbered him. "There was also a portrait of the governess' daughter," Muller added, snapping Graham back to reality, "but it was recently removed to repair the frame." He seemed almost distant as he said those words.

"Ex-Excuse me?" Graham carefully requested, hoping he wasn't disturbing the giant. "May we see the...uh...Inner Mansion?"

Muller's head nodded slowly, thoughtfully. "Certainly. Please follow me." He took great, even strides towards the double doors, which were engraved with an image of an Alakazam meditating in the air. Graham's two heads observed his enormous shadow cross the floor like a black cumulonimbus passing through a clear blue sky, ready to unleash its furious storm at any moment. Muller reached out with his thick, muscular arms and pushed the doors open with ease. They creaked loudly as they opened. Graham wondered how old the hinges were. But in strict contrast with the antique wooden doors, the room beyond was more majestic than he ever could have imagined. There was no doubt about it: it was the centerpiece of the entire mansion. As Graham was led in by Muller, both of his heads gasped in awe as they glanced around. The massive room seemed to be made of pure, polished marble, colored a pale lavenderish pink and lit up by the magnificent, sparkling light of an enormous brass chandelier hanging from the room's domed ceiling. The ceiling, decorated with painted depictions of Abras and their evolutions doing various telekinetic acts, was so high that it was dizzying to look at. The chamber spanned three floors, and there were six old wooden double doors, two on each floor. The upper two floors didn't seem to comprise of much more than marble balconies lining the wall, connecting one door to the other. On the floor at the center of the golden-lit room Graham spotted a brown wooden desk with green velvet running across its surface standing on a circular maroon rug. Beside the desk lingered a stylish red armchair, customized so as to fit Count Yamazaki's girthy tail.

Curled up on the armchair was a lavender dog, slightly feline-like and about the size of a small labrador retriever. It drowsily lifted its head as Graham and Muller came into the room, revealing bushy tufts of long purple hair that protruded from of the sides of its face, as well as long, rabbit-like ears that rose into the air from the top of its head. Its eyes were like sparkling purple gems, and between (but slightly above) its eyes was a red orb that resembled a third eye. The Pokemon didn't notice either Graham or Muller at first, but as soon as it saw them it slowly and quietly slipped off of the armchair and trotted inquisitively towards them, holding its forked tail high in the air.

Before Graham could ask what the Pokemon was doing in the chamber, Muller introduced him to the creature. He turned his large body to the Girafarig boy, and with his unchanging face he droned, "This is Isabelle, my master's pet Espeon. She is in charge of upkeeping the mansion's telekinetic network."

Now _that_ sounded interesting. "Wow, that must make her quite powerful," Graham remarked, intrigued now by the Psychic canine, who stood just a few feet away, eying him curiously. The boy's tail looked around his body, curious to see what all the commotion was about.

"The master sometimes describes her as the soul of his mansion. She is very powerful indeed. Very powerful." For the first time since Graham met him, Muller changed his facial expression. It was merely a raised eyebrow and a bit of a smile, but it was a change nonetheless, and Graham almost had to take a double-take to make sure he wasn't hallucinating. "Probably more powerful than any Psychic Pokemon for miles. Certainly a very valuable possession for my master." Isabelle shrunk away from Muller slightly, a sense of dread visible in her eyes that mirrored the instincts that Graham was now distracted from. The boy didn't notice, as he was too enthralled by the room to keep his attention on one thing for long. Muller, on the other hand, silently observed the sudden change in Isabelle's behavior, having witnessed it before. It mattered nothing to him.

Graham took another quick look around at the golden chamber. "And where are we now? This room is magnificent!"

"Chlorine!" his tail agreed with a smile.

"This is the Grand Hall of Magic Manor," the Ursaring explained, looking up from Isabelle and returning to his original blank expression. "It provides access to both the Inner and the Outer parts of the mansion."

Graham's main head's ears perked up in sheer curiosity. "What kind of rooms are in the Inner Mansion?"

"In the Inner Mansion you may find the Study, the Ballroom, as well as the Observatory, Ancestral Hall, and my Master's bedroom on the upper floors. The Ancestral Hall is strictly off-limits for guests."

"Oh?" Graham spun around to face Muller. "Why is that?"

"Which would you like to see? The Study or the Ballroom?" If Muller had heard the question, he certainly saw no need in answering it.

Slightly disappointed by not getting an answer but still blind to his instincts, Graham paused a moment to decide which room to explore. In a mansion like this, he reasoned, the ballroom would certainly be an interesting sight; but he felt the study would be a better lead-in to the ballroom than vice versa. "May my tail and I see the study?" he asked finally.

"Certainly," Muller said with a quick bow. "Right this way." Like the arms on a clock Muller turned towards a single door lying in a corner underneath the second floor balcony. Graham hadn't noticed the door before, and had to change his door count to seven. Muller's intimidating form crossed the Grand Hall in seconds, and with no hesitation he pulled open the door. He stood at the door patiently like a Buckingham Palace guard, waiting for Graham to arrive. Graham made a slower approach to the door, his tail half-occupied with Isabelle (who now watched them thoughtfully and without her former signs of fear) and not as willing to move his legs. The Eevee family was difficult to describe in their appearance; they looked like a mixture between cats, dogs, and foxes. Some looked more like one than the other, but it was difficult exactly to say if they were feline, canine, or vulpine. Espeon, in particular, was a slender, graceful Psychic Pokemon with the build of a siamese cat; however, its face was still more canine than feline, and it barked instead of meowing. Espeon was the Morning Pokemon, and it drew power from the morning sunlight. In the morning its forked tail could even predict the weather. It's Dark counterpart Umbreon was the opposite, having the build of a dog but the face of a cat, and drawing power from the moonlight. Graham's tail observed Isabelle with respect; to see an Espeon was rare, for it took a lot of work for an Eevee to evolve into one. If somebody owned an Espeon or Umbreon, you knew they were a good person.

Stepping into the study, Graham felt as if he was crossing from one world to another world, just as grand as the first. The study was a reasonably-sized room lit only by lamplight. The floor was covered with a plushy turquoise carpet that felt wonderful to Graham's feet, which he realized had been strained with holding his body up on his small blue hooves on the hard marble and wood for so long. The ceiling of the study was incredibly high up, as high as the Grand Hall. To Graham's amazement, the study lacked bookshelves or cabinets; anything a person may need just hung high above the floor. His ossicones just barely touched one of the many reference materials suspended in the air, and it was the lowest one of them all. Pencils, pens, books, papers, everything just floated above his head. The only objects on the floor were a writing desk, yet another chair compensating for Count Yamazaki's tail, and a small white leather couch against the wall.

"This mansion was built primarily with Psychic Pokemon in mind," Muller preached from the doorway. Graham almost jumped in surprise; in the bizarrity of the study he had forgotten Muller was there, and his presence now made the room feel a bit more imprisoning. A large grizzly bear-like butler completely blocking the doorway in an otherwise-inescapable room could have frightened almost anybody at least a little. Yet the boy still was too distracted from his instincts to feel the true impact. "Instead of searching a drawer for minutes trying to find a pen, my master can just will the pen to him with his mind from the objects floating in the room. Using his telekinetic powers, my master can teleport anything he needs directly to him in an instant."

"No point in having troublesome cabinets if you can just teleport anything you need to you," Graham remarked, taken aback by the logic of it all.

"This system is a product of the telekinetic network powered by Isabelle. My master could probably show you how to use it, but being that I am a _mere_ Normal Pokemon I have no access to the network. I am sorry I cannot be of service. Would you like to see the ballroom now?"

"Well..." Graham took one last look at the study. He was eager now to try out the telekinetic network, but had to admit that it could wait until later. "Sure, take me to the ballroom."

Muller complied with a bow, and to Graham's sincere relief he moved out of the doorway. The two of them crossed the Grand Hall once again, this time towards the second double doors on the first floor. They creaked almost as loudly as the first double doors had, and this time Muller closed the doors behind them after they had both entered the ballroom. The ballroom was a very spacious room similar in construction to the Grand Hall, though it spanned only one floor. Polished marble and another sparkling chandelier were charming reminders of the hall, but there were many things that set the ballroom apart from the Grand Hall. In one corner of the circular room sat a large harpsichord, dusty like an antique. Graham noted, however, that the imprint in the cushion on the large piano bench clearly revealed that the harpsichord still functioned and was still played on. Above the harpsichord contently floated a variety of classical instruments in the same fashion as the reference materials in the study. There was an oboe, an English horn, an accordion, a trumpet, a cello, as well as many other instruments. Sitting in the other corners of the ballroom were indoor plants, potted and saturated with a vivid green.

But the most interesting thing in the room, at least in Graham's opinion, was a large oil painting of the Valkyrie family hanging against the back wall. Graham scanned the portrait, and grew excited when he saw a short, purple-skinned young girl sitting between Governor and Lady Valkyrie. Considering the art was from before Governor Valkyrie ran away, Princess Catherine was quite young in the picture; all the same, it was the first picture Graham had ever seen of the fugitive Smoochum. She had blonde hair like her mother, though cut much shorter. In contrast to the pitch black skin of her mother and the pale white skin of her father, Catherine boasted vivid purple skin, which stood out against her white dress. Her face was warm and kind, even at such a young age, and Graham couldn't help but feel softened looking at it. It was a different impression than the consistant one coming from her mother, which like so many times before bore a frightfully cold face, colder than dry ice, which seemed to fill Graham with gloomy feelings. Governor Valkyrie wasn't looking so well; he was skinnier and paler than he had been in the portrait in the library, and even his rosy red cheeks seemed to have lost their color. It was a very depressing portrait, a painting of a family possibly even moments before divorce. Before he could turn his attention to something else, Graham noticed an ice-blue dog resting on a chair beside Governor Valkyrie. It was a Glaceon, not humanoid like the waiter at the restaurant in town but feral like the Espeon in the Grand Hall. "Strange," Graham muttered under his breath, so quietly that even his tail didn't hear him, "I don't remember Lady Valkyrie mentioning any pets..."

Graham suddenly felt something wasn't right. He looked around at the room, perplexed as to what it was that so disturbed him. And then it hit him, and everything flooded back. He looked behind him at Muller standing sentinel at the closed doorway. Muller was ominously watching the Girafarig's every move, hardly even blinking. The ballroom suddenly felt unnaturally confining, and Graham began to get the sense that it was a mistake to enter the room in the first place. The walls seemed to close in around him, and he felt trapped. He began to perspire, and his tail started panting. Whatever it was that set his instincts wild, what he was beginning to feel crept Graham out. He didn't want to remain in the ballroom any longer. "Can we go somewhere else?" he pleaded. Graham's sudden his change in mood and behavior confused Muller for a moment, and he was hesitant to reply.

"What is the matter? Why the sudden departure?"

"I-It's nothing, r-really, we'd just like to see more of the house."

Muller didn't answer immediately, as if the wheels in his head were spinning rapidly, hunting for the right answer. "In that case... Would you like to go to, uh, the dining room?"

"Yes, please!"

"Roast duck!" Graham's tail desperately cried.

"Very well," Muller said with yet another bow. "This way, Mr. Hopkins." And with that, Muller led Graham out of the Inner Mansion. The doors to the Grand Hall in the library closed with unnatural resonance behind them.

* * *

**A Note from the Author:** Muller is a German last name. I suppose it would look more familiar as "Müller," but I've been through so much with this chapter that I can't be bothered to correct the U's.

Please write me a review if you read this chapter! Reviews are always gratiously accepted.


	14. Isabelle and Snowy

**A Note from the Author:** I've revised and improved Chapters 1-5, so if you haven't already, please go check them out. They have different as well as new information on a few things, some of which are touched on in this chapter; so you might not get everything if you don't read them.

This is actually a short chapter compared to a few of the previous ones, but I covered everything I wanted to cover and came to a good place to transition to the next one, so...enjoy this short read! A lot of dialogue in this chapter. Please write a review if you read it, I'd greatly appreciate it.

* * *

**Chapter 14: Isabelle and Snowy**

"Hey sleepy head, welcome to breakfast!" Sophia merrily greeted as Graham and Muller entered the long dining room. Her crimson cheeks were puffy like a chipmunk's, full of pancakes. "You should really try some of these," she said, indicating her breakfast with her empty hand, "they're really delicious!"

Eager to have a moment of relief from the stresses of last night's adventure, as well as perhaps to have a bit to remind him of home, Graham readily accepted. "Sure, we'd love some," he said with a nod from both his heads. Graham distanced himself from Muller as inconspicuously as he could manage and sat himself down beside Sophia and her golden pancakes. It felt so relaxing to sit down in a wooden chair after all that standing. He stretched his two-toed feet as far as he could underneath the table, extending his neck and tail as far out from his body as was possible. It felt amazing to his joints; he truly should have done it sooner. "Ah, nothing like a good chair," he sighed.

"Viceroy's Castle," his tail sighed dreamily.

"Yes, welcome!" Count Yamazaki smiled, taking a sip of his cup of Joe. "It really is a nice day! Would you care for some coffee?"

"No thank you," Graham yawned. "We don't like the stuff."

"Well how about a spot of tea, then? Milk? Juice?"

"Is it alright with you if we just have some pancakes like Sophia?"

"Beer? No, that's not right for a Sunday morning. How about some water, at least?"

"Oh yes, water would be heavenly!"

"What about wine? Oh wait, what?" The Count frowned. "Only water? Would you like, still, sparkling, or--"

"Just still, please. Thank you for asking."

"Hmph!" The Count fiddled with his long, drooping mustache. "Not even _flavored_!"

Graham looked at Sophia and back at the Count in confusion. "I-I'm sorry. Did I say something wrong?" Sophia shrugged.

"No, no, no!" The Kadabra huffed. "It's just so...so boring! On a nice Sunday morning! Boring! Hah, at least Muller over there woke me up with a bang!" From across the room, Muller rose an eyebrow. "Oh, well, anyway, I, uh... Well, what kind of cup would you like?" the Count demanded, eying Graham's main head straight in the pupils. "A mug, a glass, or... And what about the pancakes? I don't suppose you want anything special with...uh... OOOOOOO!" The Count crossed his arms, slammed his back into the back of his chair, flicked his corpulent tail, twitched his mustache, stuck his spoon in his mouth, and frowned.

"I will handle him, master," Muller offered, stepping slowly towards Graham and Sophia. Graham shrank in his seat the nearer he got. Sophia just looked grudgingly at Graham like he was making a fool of himself.

Finally, as Muller was inches away from Graham's tail, the Count took his spoon out of his mouth and waved it casually at Muller. "No, no, I can handle this," he sighed. "You can go tidy up my room after that rude awakening. That will be all."

Muller bowed, lowering his head close enough so Graham could smell his bear breath, and departed from the room. As soon as he was gone, Sophia elbowed Graham in the ribs and sharply whispered aside to him, "Get ahold of yourself! You're embarrassing me!"

"Mr. Hopkins," the Count called, clearing his throat.

"You can just call me Graham," Graham mumbled sheepishly.

"_Fine_ then, _Graham_, here's how we'll do it." The Kadabra gently stroked his spoon, looking at it rather than at Graham. "Have you ever tried my mansion's telekinetic network?"

Graham shook his head. "No..."

"Have you _heard_ of my mansion's telekinetic network?"

"Sure. Your butler showed me your Espeon."

"He's got an _Espeon_!?" Sophia gasped under her breath. "I've always wanted one of those!"

Count Yamazaki didn't appear to have heard her envy. "You're completely capable of behaving like a Psychic Pokemon should. You can just get your breakfast yourself. Then you can choose all those details you are so critical of. Do you know how to _use_ the network?" Graham shook his head. "Very well, I shall tell you." Count Yamazaki twirled his spoon around in his hand, still not looking at the Girafarig. "Sophia, I would recommend you stand back. This can be a bit dangerous for beginners." Sophia nodded and gave Graham a pat on the back.

"Good luck, this should be cool," she growled with a grin in that strange draconic fashion of her's. She picked up her plate of pancakes and stood up, leaning herself against a wall so she could eat and watch at the same time.

Count Yamazaki pulled his sleeves back and turned his gaze to Graham. He stared at the boy straight in the eyes, in a manner both Madame Morpheus and Lady Valkyrie had had a manner of doing. Graham felt the Count was looking into his very mind. He hoped he wouldn't embarass himself.

The Count cleared his throat and instructed, "Alright, Graham, I want you to listen carefully to these instructions. This telekinetic network is like a catalog of anything and everything that exists in this mansion. Think of it like a card catalog in a library, except every book is an object, from food to parts of the wall to myself to Sophia's underwear. I'm sure you can understand that this can be a helpful but potentially problematic system." Graham nodded understandingly. "Very good, then." The Count held up his spoon, thumb pressed against the ladle. "Now do as I say. Close your eyes so that not a fraction of light can enter." Graham's two heads shut their eyes as hard as they could. "You don't have to smash them until they collapse onto each other!" the Count scolded. "Easen up a bit!"

Suddenly, to Graham's astonishment, some sort of mental inventory appeared in his mind. "Aha, you see it?" the Count smiled. "Isabelle is the brain of this work of art. What she is doing is picking up your Psychic signal, and sending back this imagery. My catalog documents everything in the mansion. You have access to anything in the building. Just choose it, and you can call it to you. All you have to do is mentally flip through the pages and find what you like. Let me know when you've constructed your breakfast order." Graham began to nod, but the Count stopped him. "Don't break the connection! I hate repeating instructions!"

Graham was taken aback by the ease he experienced navigating through the catalog. He was also amazed by the quality of the "pages." The page with Sophia had information on her mood, on her health, on her position, and even had a picture of her. All it lacked was her history and what she was thinking. Flipping to the food in the kitchen, Graham found extensive nutrition tables on every ingredient of every meal. He located the kind of pancake he wanted, the water from the sink, even what plates, silverware, and cup he wanted. "Alright, I'm ready," he stated.

"Excellent! Now, to acquire what you yearn for, you simply have to envision yourself touching the page with your hand." Graham raised a hand, but the Count immediately used his Psychic powers to lower it. "Not with your actual hand! Just imagine your hand!"

Sophia laughed before stabbing another piece of pancake with her fork. "_Nice_ one, Mr. Literal." She watched the scene intently, though what was going on was invisible to her apart from a Girafarig boy with his four eyes closed being bullied by a middle-aged Kadabra.

Graham tried again. This time, he pictured in his mind his yellow hand, fingers tipped with blue hooves, skin covered in the velvety yellow fur that a few years ago he would never have associated with his very own appendage. With his pretend index finger he reached out and lightly tapped the page with his combined meal. Immediately when the hoof touched the paper, the catalog vanished.

Sophia, who had a clear view of the kitchen, gasped. "Oh my Arceus!" she exclaimed. "Graham, open your eyes!"

"Feel free," the Count sighed, preoccupied with his spoon again. "Your work is complete."

Graham opened his eyes and nearly fainted. A cup was floating through the air directly towards his spot on the table, water bobbing up to the rim of the glass. Inside the kitchen, ingredients were moving at the speed of light, mixing themselves, flipping themselves on the stove, and landing on a plate while silverware leaped out of the cupboard. Within seconds the plate was covered in syrupy buttermilk pancakes and bounded out of the kitchen and onto the table. "Enjoy," the Count mumbled, aloof in his own thoughts.

"Did Graham do that, Count?" Sophia demanded. "That was amazing!"

"Oh no," the Count retorted, shaking his head with a bit of a playful frown. "No, that was Isabelle's work. She really is the soul of the mansion, you know?"

"Well I'll be sure to thank her!" Graham grinned, eying his pancakes as all four of his stomach growled. "I sure am hungry!"

"Well you can if you'll accompany me later to the Grand Hall. I have business to attend to. And _speaking_ of business, I'd like you and Sophia to know that I have called Cousin Valkyrie, and she said that she'll send somebody over here sometime later in the day to get you. So not to worry, you'll be home by tomorrow morning."

"That's good," Sophia said, swallowing the last of her pancakes as Graham began eating his. Spotting his hungry tail, Sophia tapped Graham's shoulder. "Hey Graham, your tail's looking a bit hungry. You can use my plate to give him something to eat."

"Oh! Thank you!" Graham slid two pancakes onto Sophia's plate. Sophia lowered the plate to a level surface that Graham's tail could eat on--a crate--and patted the brown ball's head before sitting back down.

"That's all, folks!" the Girafarig's tail thanked.

The Count stood up. "That was a bit scatter-brained, forgetting your tail like that. Are you sure you're a Girafarig? They bond with their tails from birth."

Graham could see Sophia's eyes darting to his for a brief moment. He hoped the Count wasn't looking into his mind at that moment.

"I used to have a Girafarig as a classmate in school. He communicated with his tail like they were a single entity."

Sophia thought for an excuse as quickly as she could. "U-Uh, well you see, he's not a normal Girafarig. He's really, uh, disconnected from his tail. Ever since he was adopted, we've thought maybe a Spite was used on them when they were young."

"Ah yes," the Kadabra nodded, seemingly fooled at least for the moment. "Spite could do that..." Graham just nodded, hoping he was being helpful. In truth he was confused; in the games, Spite had been a Ghost attack that merely reduced the amount of "Power Points" available to use a particular attack. Yet it seemed like it meant something completely different in this situation. He'd have to ask Sophia about it later.

"Since he was very young, Graham's had trouble with his Psychic powers. We've been trying to help him, but considering we're only Fire Pokemon it's been difficult." An idea had kindled in her fiery mind.

"Really? Well, you've come to the right place. I study the workings of the Psychic mind; you could say it's my specialty. That's how I was able to tap into Isabelle and construct my telekinetic network. After you've finished your pancakes, Graham, I can show you a few books that you could borrow for your stay in the state."

Graham swallowed what he was chewing. "Could we? How would you get them back?"

"Oh, you could just give them to Lady Valkyrie. Then next time she visits she could bring them to me."

-

After breakfast was done, the Count called Muller down to clean up the table. While Muller was busy washing up, the wise Kadabra took Sophia and Graham to the Library. On the way, Graham called Sophia aside. The two walked slower so they'd keep up with the Count without him overhearing. "Sophia," he asked, "what did you mean by Spite?"

Sophia nodded understandingly. "Spite is an attack Ghosts use almost to fatigue a person out in battle. Except, instead of making them tired, it just makes their attacks not last as long. Really, the simpler version is it weakens a Pokemon's access to a particular technique. This can be devastating for some Pokemon; like, a Chansey whose Softboiled attack is Spited would begin to find their eggs less tasty and would heal themselves with them less. In your 'case,' Spite would have been used on Baton Pass."

"Ah, I get it," Graham nodded with a wink.

"So what does Spite do in your world?"

"It actually works a lot like that. Pokemon have these specific amount of times they can use an attack; they call them 'Power Points.' Spite reduces the remaining amount of times a Pokemon can use that attack."

"The way you talk it sounds like all Pokemon do is fight."

"Heh, yeah..."

By now they had arrived at the library. Sophia, who hadn't seen the room before, was quick to investigate almost everything Graham had. "Look, Graham!" she exclaimed. "There are portraits of the Valkyries!"

"Oh, that's right!" Graham gasped, remembering something that had confused him. "Sophia, did you ever see a Glaceon while we were in the castle?"

"You mean that nice waiter?"

"No, I mean a...a pet Glaceon."

Sophia shook her head in confusion. "No, I never did. Didn't even know they _had_ pets in that grim place. Why?"

"Well, in the mansion's ballroom there was a painting of the entire Valkyrie family--the princess included--and there was a Glaceon sitting on a chair."

"Oh, you mean Snowy?" the Count called from behind a bookshelf. "He's such a good Glaceon. Always seemed to brighten up the place whenever I was over. He was Catherine's pet, you know."

"Was?" Sophia frowned.

"Uh, sorry, I meant 'is.' Slip of the tongue, you know. Anyway, Snowy is actually Isabelle's brother. Governor Valkyrie's old Jolteon had two puppies, and I got one while Catherine got the other." Graham and Sophia exchanged worried, knowing looks. "Ah, here it is! Graham, you might enjoy having a look through this!" The Kadabra walked out from behind the bookshelf holding a large pink textbook.

"Couldn't you have just used your network to get that?"

"Oh, yes, of course. But there's a certain bit of fun in actually searching for the book sometimes. You can't deprive a middle-aged man of his pleasures, you know. Here." The Count handed the book to Graham. Graham nearly fell over; the book was far heavier than it looked. It's pink cover, decorated with a Grumpig dressed up like Merlin, showed signs of wear and tear, but it still looked like a fascinating read. The title read, The Bent Spoon - A Journey into the Fascinating Workings of the Psychic Mind. Examining the pages, he found them to be slightly yellowing but still with the text intact. "I'm sure you'll learn a lot about Psychics from that book," the Count assured.

"Got anything on Fire types?" Sophia asked hopefully.

The Count shook his head. "Only one; far more complete than any you'd find in a library. But I loaned it to a Crobat a few days ago; he was a college student studying methods to better prepare policemen against Fire Pokemon."

"Dang!" Sophia growled, slamming her fist into the palm of her other hand. "I can't believe it! I totally forgot about that creep!"

"I... Wuh... My dear, what are you talking about?"

"This creep of a Crobat attacked us a day or two after we first arrived in the state one night. My Dad and I chased him away with Fire attacks; the thug must have wanted to figure out how to keep that from happening next time!"

"Oh my, my, my... And I helped him manage it... I'm truly sorry, I hope you'll forgive me."

"Did he say what his name was?" Graham asked, rubbing his ribs. He remembered how much they hurt the day after the attack.

"He said he was a Mr. Drack Pire, a German exchange student from the university in town."

"Mr. Pire, huh? I'll remember that one."

Sophia lightened up. "Count," she asked cheerfully, "may you show me the Grand Hall? I'd like to see Isabelle!"

Count Yamazaki chuckled and twirled his spoon in his hand. "Oh, I don't see why not. I'd like to do a few things in the study anyway." He began walking towards the door. "Come along." Graham tucked the book underneath his arm and followed the Kadabra to the large double doors between the Valkyrie portraits.

"You're going to love this, Sophia. The Grand Hall is--"

"Hold everything!" the Count exclaimed suddenly. His slanted eyes grew wide, and he flung his arms out. "Something... Something is very wrong!" Without hesitation he telekinetically blew open the doors, and revealed to the children the majestic Grand Hall. Sophia, however, was unable to find enjoyment in the place because of a pair of individuals looming in the center of the room.

"You've got to be kidding me..." Graham muttered.

Standing tall in the middle of the great chamber ominously towered Joseph Muller, back erect and expression petrified just as always. But one arm was outstretched, and a massive brown hand formed a fist, tightly clutching a thin lavender tube. The tube was connected on both ends to a squirming object, desperately trying to claw and scratch but unable to reach the bulky bear holding it. "Mr. Muller!" the Count bellowed angrily, his arms continuing to be stretched wide. "Unhand my Espeon immediately!" Sophia swung her hands up to her mouth in horror. Graham's jaw just dropped. What Muller held in his powerful hand was Isabelle's thin neck. Muller had been looking at the Pokemon, and upon the arrival of his master he did not turn away from it. He made no move to let the Pokemon go. It madly struggled to get out of his grip, but nothing it tried worked. "Joseph Muller, I command you to let Isabelle go!" the Count repeated, his eyes beginning to glow a faint blue.

"S-Sophia, why can't she just attack him? Normal Pokemon aren't immune to Psychics!" Graham stuttered to his companion. His mind felt jumbled, confused.

"I-I don't know! I don't know!" she babbled back.

"I warn you, Muller, if you don't drop her immediately I'll make you drop her!" The Count pointed his spoon directly at the Ursaring, the utensil glowing with psychic energy. "Don't make me!" Suddenly a bluish blur bolted down from above, landing gracefully and silently on the marble floor between the Count and Muller. It was topped with a crown of pink feather-like obtrusions, but its small mustelid-like face and dark blue fur echoed the darkness of the night. It's freezing breath was visible, resembling the steam snorting out of a raging bull. It had little in the form of hands; instead of hands, it had saber-like claws. "A... A Weavile!" the Count gasped, backing down a little.

"So that's why Isabelle can't do anything!" Sophia cried. "There's a Dark Pokemon here!"

"From now on, Houdin Yamazaki," Muller thundered, his voice far less monotonous than on previous occasions, "you and your guests shall take orders from me now. Make any move, and this Pokemon will breathe its last breath! This mansion now belongs to me!"

"Sophia, can't you torch that Weavile?" Graham pleaded. "It's only an Ice Pokemon, it should be easy!"

"I can't, Graham," Sophia replied sadly. "I single flicker from my mouth and Isabelle will die!"

"Children," the Count somberly ordered, "lay down your defenses. They've won." He lowered his spoon and bowed his head in defeat. Muller smiled for the first time since Graham had met him.

-

A dull grey van slowly drove up the icy road towards the rusted iron gate of the Yamazaki Estate, deep in a snowy evergreen forest. The windows were somewhat frosted, the van's defroster broken, and so both the driver and passenger had to poke their heads out the window to see in front of them. Fortunately, it was a sunny Sunday at the base of the mountain, and it wasn't too hard to view the space around them. The road was straight; their only problems were keeping the snow and ice from sending their van off course and making sure they didn't run over any Stantlers crossing the road. The head poking out of the driver's window was one covered in grey and tan skin as coarse and thick as bedrock. A drill-like horn protruded from the man's snout, and nervously spun this way and that now and then. The head watching from the passenger's window was purple and serpentine, a forked tongue flashing out of its mouth every now and then. Drooping from the man's long neck were flaps of skin that, if enraged, would open into a horrifying hood. Occasionally, the woolly, porcine heads of a Swinub would poke out the driver's window, a Piloswine from the passenger's.

"It was nice of Dr. Flarison to ask us to pick up his children," Dan the Rhydon said from outside the driver's window. "I'd do anything to get away from that governess."

"Very true, very true," Wes the Arbok nodded from outside the passenger's window. "She can _sssssssss_-certainly be difficult _sssss_sometimes. Working with her is_ssssss_ like partic-_ssssss_-ipating in a rodeo! Though I hear--watch out, you're getting a bit too far to the right--her cou_sssss_sin living up in this mansion is_sssss_ one wild _ssss_stallion him_sssss_self. Short temper_sssss_s must run in the family."

"Well, at least this Count Yamazaki isn't looking for his child. I doubt there's anything for him to be angry about."

"I hope not, Dan." Wes' Piloswine snorted in agreement.

"Nice weather, though," Dan smiled. "Much better than the blizzard they're having up on Siren's Peak. We left just in time, the wind was just starting to pick up."

"_Sssss_speak for yer_sssss_self, pardner," Wes retorted. "I'm _sss_still mad my hat blew away!"

"Oh, I'm sure we'll be able to find it when we get back. We _are_ trained detectives, after all."

"You can _ssss_say that again!"

"We _are_ trained--oh, you meant... Sorry."

Wes and his Piloswine laughed, each distinctively making a hissing and oinking sound respectively. "Ah, Dan, yer one in a million."

Dan stopped the van in front of the mansion gate. "Well, I suppose we'll have to do the rest on foot," Dan sighed. "Let's go." He slowly unbuckled his seat belt and, minding his strength, lightly opened the car door. His Swinub leaped out of the van first and started happily rolling around in the snow. Dan took his time, pulling up the collar of his trench coat and cramming his hands into the coat pockets before stepping out. "Hoo! It's a cold one today! Must be ten below freezing! Doesn't look like Gossamer minds though." Gossamer snorted back a joyful squeal.

"Aw, you _sssss_said it!" Wes moaned, zipping up his fleece jacket and gently slipping his heavy, segmented tail out of the van and into the icy snow before quickly recoiling it back into the van. "Arboks_sss_ ju_ssss_st weren't made for the _ssssss_snow!"

"Sucks to be cold-blooded, doesn't it? You can stay in the van if you want."

"I didn't _sssss_say I wa_sssss_sn't coming. I just _ssssss_said it was_ssss_ cold! Come on, Bronco." Wes' Piloswine plopped into the snow with much less joy than Gossamer, preferring to stay focused on the job. It grunted to Gossamer to quit playing around, but the Swinub wasn't very keen on listening. Wes slithered back into the snow, quietly hissed a yelp, and insisted, "Come on, let's_sssss_ get in_sssss_side already!"

"Alright, alright," Dan sighed. He trudged over to the gate and pushed it open. "I hope Graham and Sophia are alright. They're such good kids."

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**A Note from the Author:** Dig that lisp. Please review if you read!


	15. The Axis Alliance

**A Note from the Author:** Took long enough, didn't it? A lot happens here, though, so I suppose it was worth the wait. If you read, please leave a review; I promise I will respond to every single one.

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**Chapter 15: The Axis Alliance**

Dan and Wes stood idly at the doorstep waiting for it to be answered. The wind had picked up, and snow was thrust into the air around them. "It's gotten awfully grim, hasn't it?" Dan mumbled anxiously, looking around at the dull, white scenery. Wes nodded, shuffling to huddle in his fleece. A Murkrow cawed in a tree deeper in the alpine forest. The sound's echo seemed to last an eternity. Dan peeked down at his hoofed feet, large stones resting on old wooden boards. They were covered in snow; he subtly wiped them on the welcome mat. The un-necessarily eerie silence made Dan increasingly nervous; hoping to change the mood, he swayed back and forth while whistling a merry little tune he had heard on the van's radio. The notes were mellow and high, and the song was uplifting. Wes made a loud sigh, implying his distaste for the song, and Dan quickly stopped. The Arbok knocked on the door loudly, impatience growing. "Sure is_sssssss_ taking a while," Wes complained.

Dan looked at his comrade and waved his hand slightly. "Oh, I'm sure he's just busy," he replied.

Suddenly there was a creak, its deep, haunting tone enough to make Dan jump in surprise. The old wooden doors to the mansion opened inward momentarily. Standing in the doorway loomed a grim-looking Ursaring, mouth turned in a frown that seemed to have existed for centuries. He eyed Dan and Wes respectively, then cleared his voice. "Yes?" the bear requested, answering the door with a welcome that could scare away any Trick-or-Treater in milliseconds. Dan shrunk back a little. "Who is it?" Both detectives cringed subtly at the bear's unfriendly appearance. The Ursaring, upon seeing their badges, quickly fixed his question, with a hint of anxiety. "Officers? What's the matter?"

"U-Uh, no..." Dan corrected, looking at the wooden boards in intimidation. "We're not exactly officers... We're more like detectives."

"Ah, I see," the Ursaring nodded, easing up a little. "And your reason for being here is...?"

Dan stepped forward, hoping to impress the Ursaring so that he wouldn't be so scary. "We were just sent to pick up two children--a Girafarig and a Charmeleon--who should be in the custody of a...Count Yamazaki? Are you that man, sir?"

The Ursaring shook his head coldly. His reply was as rigid as ice, and as monotonous as machine. "No, I'm afraid I'm not. I'm his butler, Joseph Muller. My master is a bit..." The butler paused, searching for words. "...tied up at the moment. I think that's a suitable way to put it."

"Dan, don't you remember?" Wes snapped. "The Count's_sssssssss_ a Kadabra, not an Urs_ssssss_aring!"

Dan hung his head. "Oh yeah..."

"I'm afraid we're all very busy at the moment," Muller quickly explained. "Good-bye." He began shutting the door, but Wes immediately stuck his powerful purple tail in the doorway.

"Excus_sssss_e me, pardner?" Wes sternly demanded. "We aren't here for the Count. We're here for the children."

Muller's gaze broke from the Pokemon for a split second. "Uh... They are busy too. Come back some other time."

Wes shook his head indignantly, almost chuckling with annoyance. "Oh no, buddy. We've come a loooong way, _sssssss_so if thos_sssssss_e children are bus_ssssss_y, we're going to wait right here. Where's_ssssss_ your manners_ssssss_?" Wes gave Muller a glare so fierce the butler felt paralyzed for a moment. It was a powerful Arbok tactic of persuasion or intimidation, and it made Dan glad to have Wes for a partner.

"Well... Um..." Muller thought hard for a moment, looking back and forth between Dan and Wes. He really seemed to have something urgent he had to attend to; what it was the detectives weren't sure. After a few seconds of the stalemate, Muller bowed. "Well... Alright," he conceded. "If you so insist, let me show you to the sitting room."

"There, that's_ssssss_ more like it!" Wes smiled. As soon as Muller had his back turned the serpent gave Dan a quiet high-five. "Come on, let's_ssssss_ go!" he called to his Piloswine and Gossamer. The two swines jumped out of the deep snow and shook off any flakes that had collected on their wool. They followed the two detectives enthusiastically into the dark mansion as they, in turn, followed Muller. The Ursaring didn't notice the two creatures.

Dan stuck close to Wes as they were led into the living room. There was something very eerie and disturbing about the old mansion. All the curtains were reclusively shut over the windows, and even though it was only 2:00 in the afternoon, the only light came from candles over the mantle of the fireplace. Muller didn't say a word as he walked; this only made him suspicious, so Dan kept a close eye on him; not that there was any reason to _be_ suspicious, but as a member of the police force he felt had to be watchful of anybody. He kept his distance from the butler, and only stopped clinging to Wes' arm when the cobra shook him off.

Muller motioned to two armchairs and the detectives promptly seated themselves. "This is the sitting room," the bear droned, increasingly unfriendly in his tone of voice. "I must humbly request that you stay here until the Count has finished preparing the children." Muller made a deep bow, and began backing up out of the room. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have things I must see to." Muller stepped into a narrow hallway in the back of the room, and slammed the doors shut. Dan could hear a faint click.

Wes shook his head with disgust, watching the door Muller had shut. "Well if that was_ssss_n't the mos_ssss_t unneighborly man I've ever met..." he grumbled.

The Rhydon turned to his partner with wide eyes. He trembled like a volcano ready to explode. "Wes, I think he locked us in..." he whispered nervously.

"Nons_ssssssss_ens_sssss_e," Wes grumbled.

Voice a little louder, Dan repeated, "Wes, we're locked in, I know it!"

Wes flicked his tongue in and out of his mouth for a moment. "Prove it," he challenged quietly.

Dan held up a hoofed hand and pointed at it with the other. Both looked almost as if they had been sculpted out of bedrock. "Wes, if I tried turning that knob I'd probably break it off."

Wes was silent for a moment, trying to invent a different subject to talk about. "I wonder what that Count is_sssss_ preparing them for," he thought aloud. He couldn't avoid the idea of the door for more than a second, however, because a scratching sound brought it back to attention. Wes peeked his long neck around to look at where the sound came from. Bronco was clawing the door with his hooves almost in an "I want out" fashion. "Bronco, what is_sssss_ it?" Gossamer was soon to join Bronco at the door, sniffing and clawing every now and then. Gossamer seemed far more excited, though, and grunted with anticipation. The Swinub occasionally looked hopefully at Dan, then back at the door.

"I think they are as keen as I am about finding out what this Muller guy is hiding, Wes," Dan explained. The Rhydon carefully got up, trying not to collapse the armchair while pushing off of it. He crept over to the door and put an ear to it. "Hmm... All is quiet..." He then called to his Arbok friend, "Hey Wes, I've changed my mind. I think I _will_ try this door."

Wes jumped onto his tail. "Dan," he hissed, "don't you dare open that--" There was a crash, and the sound of wood splitting. "--door..." Wes slithered to where Dan stood, single-handedly holding the door in the air. The Arbok angrily expanded his hood, revealing the wicked glare of a Gengar. "Gosh darn it, Dan, why'd you have to go 'n do that!?"

Wes was probably the only person Dan wasn't afraid of. He didn't falter as he explained his actions. "Wes, there's something not right in this house; your Piloswine knows it, my Swinub knows it, and my police instincts know it too! That Muller guy gives me the creeps, but if it means busting him for some crime, I'll do anything to ensure saving the members of this household!"

Wes grabbed the door from Dan's hand and immediately dropped it heavily on Dan's foot, unable to hold it up at all. Dan's rock-hard skin prevented the Rhydon detective from sustaining any harm from the fall, though. "Dan, you don't even know if that hombre is_ssssss_ a crook or not! You don't know what yer gettin' into!"

"Wes, you're a pilot. Everytime I see you hop into one of those jets, I tell you that exact same thing. 'You don't know if that plane's got technical issues! You don't know what you're getting into!' But that never stopped you, Wes. Back in the whole Don Karasu incident, no threat of mistake stopped you from apprehending that Machamp. Hesitation never stopped you from sticking your big tail in the door right in front of Muller, Wes." Dan stood tall, looking the frightening cowboy in the eye. Wes hadn't ever seen his friend act like this before. He retracted his hood. "I don't know what's stopping you now, Wes, but I've been getting _really_ bad vibes ever since I set foot past that gate, and somehow--I don't know how--I just know that if we don't act now, something terrible will happen. It's almost as if walking into this mansion gave us all a bit of Psychic instinct. Maybe that's why your confidence has weakened. (Psychic was strong against Poison) But whether you like it or not, there's something wrong here, and I'm not going to stop trying to impede it until I have strong evidence telling me that there _isn't_ anything wrong. I know I'm a scaredy-cat, and I know there's probably gonna be something that will scare me and make me wish I never suggested this at all, but right now I'm going to march straight through this hall and get to the bottom of things." With incredible strength Dan lifted the broken door off his foot and leaned it against the wall. "Now are you with me or not?" Dan held out a hand towards his partner.

Wes was speechless for a moment. "Dan, I... I don't know what to _sssss_say. I..." Wes rose proudly. "All I can _sssss_say I'm proud of ya, pardner, and I'm gonna do everything it takes_sssss_ to make sure this_ssssss_ new _sssssss_side of you is_ssssss_n't in vain." Wes reached his hand out and shook Dan's firmly. "I'm in."

With their Pokemon beside them, Dan and Wes crept through the narrow hallway beyond the doorway. There was an eerie emptiness to it, almost ghostly, that influenced the two detectives to stay quiet themselves. Dan's only words were to Gossamer. "Alright, Gossamer," he quietly instructed, "lead the way. Go sniff out Muller, but slowly!"

"_Ssssss_same to you, Bronco," Wes ordered to his Piloswine. "Quietly!" The two Ground Pokemon shuffled across the landing, noses pressed to the floor and vacuuming every odor they came across. They quickly identified the smell of Muller's bare feet, and followed the smells to the other end of the hall. Before Dan could open the door, Wes put a hand out to stop him. "Whoa there, pardner. I think I should open this_sssss_ door. You've done enough damage." Dan nodded his head, and Wes silently turned the knob of the door and pushed it open.

"This is the messiest library I've ever seen!" Dan exclaimed as quietly as he could. There were hundreds of old books scattered on the floor, some open and others not, stacks of them so unorganized that it seemed as if they all rained from the ceiling. Dan found himself stuck at the doorway, Wes gliding over the books with the Swinub and Piloswine ahead of him. Whereas the Arbok, a somewhat heavy species himself, could distribute his weight through his long body, Rhydon didn't just have the looks of stone--he weighed like it. The delicate, old texts would be decimated by a singe misplaced step. "Wes, I could use a little assistance," he groaned. Wes nodded his head understandingly and slithered back to his partner. The sight of his partner slipping through the dark aisle briefly reminded Dan of the giant Seviper in the sewers from the second Harry Potter book. Fortunately for Dan, however, _this_ serpent was on _his_ side.

Wes knew exactly how to solve the problem. He found an spot on the floor empty of books, and from there with a great sweep of his tail he brushed away all the books in Dan's way. "That better for ya, pardner?" he coughed, waving a hand to get the released cloud of dust out of his face. The dust almost stung; Ground (mud and dust included) was to Poison Pokemon what Water was to Fire types.

Dan smiled. "Yes, thank you." Dan followed Wes back through the aisle, carefully placing each step to make sure his feet didn't crush anything fragile. "Do you know where Gossamer got off to?" he added, unable to spot his woolly friend.

"Ummmm..." Wes slipped ahead, glancing briefly down each of the bookself aisles. He stopped at the middle aisle. "Ah, here's_sssssss_ the varmint!" Dan hurried over. Both Gossamer and Wes' Piloswine were pushing their snouts against a big double door. To its sides were portraits of the Valkyries. "Golly, Dan, this_sssss_ place is kinda creepy," Wes whispered, anxiously looking at the paintings. Though the room was only dimly lit, Lady Valkyrie's intimidating eyes were clearly visible. It felt almost as if she was watching them.

"Why do you think they're pressed against the door like that?" Dan asked, trying to keep his attention away from the fearsome paintings. He carefully snuck across the aisle to Gossamer and the Piloswine. "What's up, you guys?"

"I think they probably want to _sssssss_see what's_sssss_ on the other _ssssss_ide of that door."

Dan took a deep breath. "Well, no harm in letting them have a peek..." He swiftly reached for a doorknob and turned it as gently as he could. The door creaked loudly.

-

Muller's Weavile fiendishly revealed a long cable of rope. "Mussorgsky," Muller commanded his pet, as cool as the snow in Antarctica, "tie their hands and legs together. Be careful with the Charmeleon." The Weavile nodded and cut five large segments and a single small segment from the wicket rope. It freely approached the Count and Graham and gleefully bound their wrists and knees with the large segments, and it clamped Graham's tail's mouth shut with the small segment. The wicket would easily be burnt away by Sophia's tail flame, but this had apparently been planned for. Cautious of Sophia's advantage over the Dark/Ice Pokemon, it inched towards her and revealed another cable--one made of flame-proof material.

Sophia looked at the wire in defeat as the Weavile bound her hands and legs. "Aw man..." she moaned.

"Joseph Muller," the Count growled, his voice almost a lisp. The presence of the Dark Pokemon had inhibited his neural transmission almost like alcohol, and it was difficult to uphold his manner of talking. "Why have you done this? Why this outrage?"

"Because," the Ursaring answered, a dark smile on his muzzle. "You knew too much, Yamazaki. What if you broke your promise? We couldn't have you doing anything rash. I was assigned, therefore, to take control of this establishment. And anyway," he added evilly, grinning at the Espeon, now being bound with the final large rope segment by the Weavile, "this Espeon is very valuable. It should fetch almost as high a price as the girl will."

The Count recoiled almost as if in pain. Muller's last line had struck a nerve. "Not Isabelle too! Isn't one enough? Your friends have already taken away my most precious treasure, must you take away my second? You foul thing!"

"Come again?" Graham asserted, discovering a new person to blame for the predicament. "What do you mean by 'second?' Did you know he'd do this?"

"What exactly is going on here, Count?" Sophia demanded.

The Count was at a loss for words. He looked back at them, but all he could do was hang his head in shame. A tear seemed to drip from his face. "Well... Not _him_, but..."

Muller laughed wickedly. It was so strange seeing him portray any emotion at all; so strange that it was terrifying. "Go on, Count. Tell them! Your time is almost up." The Count fell to his knees as if a blow had knocked the wind out of him. He tried opening his mouth again, but his throat could only crack. He could only shake his head pleadingly to Muller. "Ashamed of yourself? We've all done cruel things in our lives. What's one more to add to the pile?"

"Are you the guy who captured the princess?" Sophia roared, staring Muller in the eye with burning passion. "It must have been you! Only somebody so cruel could have--"

"Me? Not at all. Ask the _real_ culprit. Out with it, Yamazaki. Tell her who the real culprit is!"

Count Yamazaki stared at the floor. "I... But I..." More tears dripped from his sagging eyes. His pupils could hardly focus on the ground anymore. He looked back pleadingly at Graham and Sophia. "I--"

Suddenly the doorbell rang. Everybody grew stiff and silent. Muller glanced around for a moment, searching for some sanctuary. Finally, unable to find one, he turned to his Weavile. "Mussorgsky, watch our 'guests.' I shall see who is at the door." He began moving as mechanically as ever to the library doors. "Be good now," he instructed the three prisoners with a false face of concern before slamming the doors shut.

"Count, what on Earth was he talking about?" Sophia cried, trying to deny the idea that had begun to grow in her head.

"Children, I..." The Count looked away from them as if to shield himself from harm. "I... I wasn't exactly honest... When I told you what happened... To the girl... Catherine, I mean..."

Graham's eyes grew wide. "Count, you don't mean you teleported and--"

"NO! No... Of course I didn't. I wouldn't do that to my cousin, after all she's been through. I wouldn't do that to that sweet little girl... I'm not a kidnapper. But... That said, I..."

"Tell us, Count. We want to know."

"When the girl came to my mansion... Well, they came too. This criminal organization from Germany, calling themselves the Axis Alliance, showed up at my door the very night the girl appeared. I don't know how they knew she was there... I swear I don't. And they demanded only one thing: Catherine, and in return they'd spare my life. I was foolish; I had been drinking. I swear I wouldn't do this if I had only been thinking straight! I... I surrendered immediately."

Sophia gasped. "Count, you didn't!"

"I...I did. Right there at the doorstep I called for Catherine, and I told her... I told her these people had come to take her home. She had changed her mind about not wanting to go home, and happily approached them. A Lickylicky... That's who seized her. A Lickylicky; there was somebody with him, though I don't know who. Sounded like a Gligar or..."

"...a Crobat, I'll bet," Sophia suggested, recalling her midnight attacker's thick German accent and hostile behavior.

"You are probably right. But I... I just gave her to them. I feared they would kill me anyway, but they said that as long as I didn't tell anybody, I and my dear Isabelle could live. They swore me to secrecy, and warned that they'd know the minute I opened my mouth. I had no choice, once they had the girl. I had to let them take her away..."

"How could you do that? Surely you could have fought back!"

"I...I couldn't. That vile creature over there, that Weavile... It was there."

"Not even Miracle Eye?"

"Child, I haven't used Miracle Eye since a long time ago. I just don't know how anymore."

"Try, Count!" Sophia pleaded. "It may be our only chance to escape!" Miracle Eye was a rare Psychic ability to negate the immunizing effects of Dark Pokemon.

Suddenly there was a crash, and a purple creature zoomed out of a door on the third story. It flew in circles around the prisoners, a wide grin on its face. "Why hello!" he greeted wickedly. "Fancy meeting you again, children! Yuck yuck yuck!" The creature--a Crobat--landed on the floor near Isabelle and the Weavile. He folded his wings, puffed a few smoke rings out of the cigar in his mouth, and then leisurely removed the cigar from his mouth. "Why hello, Count. I do believe we met before?" he cackled.

"Drach Pire!" the Count growled. "It's you! What are you doing here?"

"That's _Mr._ Pire to you, gramps!" Mr. Pire sneered. "Isn't it obvious? I have come to keep an eye on you three--or should I say, a _Miracle_ eye?" The Count gasped. "No dirty tricks, old-timer," Mr. Pire teased.

"Actually, _Mr._ Pire, I'm only in my 60's," Yamazaki snapped, looking for some way to keep his dignity.

Sophia stared straight in Mr. Pire's eyes. "So you're in cahoots with Muller, are you?" she demanded, a hint of defiance on her voice. "I should have known a low thug such as yourself wouldn't have anything better to do." She leered at the Crobat.

Mr. Pire immediately shot towards Sophia, suspending himself in the air mere inches away from her snout. "I don't think you're in any position to talk, little girl," he angrily snapped, puffing smoke in her face.

Sophia's eyes weren't fazed, accustomed to smoke rising from her own nostrils. All the same, the stench of tobacco was terribly repugnant. "Smoking isn't good for you, bozo. You're gonna kill yourself."

"I could say the same to you, my fiery friend," Mr. Pire countered through gritted teeth.

Sophia snorted. "My smoke isn't full of all the narcotics your addicted brain is being junked up by. Even _I'm_ not dependant on inhaling my own fumes."

Mr. Pire grabbed Sophia's shirt. "At least I can _fly_. You aren't even going to live to be a Charizard."

"At least I'll live longer than you, druggie."

Mr. Pire took his cigar out of his mouth again and fully revealed his set of poisonous fangs. "Narcotics don't affect Poison types, girl, but I'm sure my venom will mess _your_ brain up real nicely."

Sophia made her own coaxing sneer. "Big words, _Drug_-ula. I'm not afraid of some lowly underling. Did you get the memo? Zubats are some of the lowest-ranking Pokemon in the criminal syndicates over in Kanto and Johto. There's a reason why they get beaten so much." She spat on Mr. Pire's suit. The bat's eyes doubled in size, visibly insulted by the comparisons to the Romanian Gliscor and the terribly incompetent grunts of Team Rocket.

Mr. Pire shook Sophia. "Why you little _Wurmple_! Don't you associate me with some Gligar!"

"Enough!" a voice thundered. All eyes turned to the rumbling, monotonous voice by the Grand Hall doors. Muller had returned, and he looked as distressed as an expressionless creature could. "Mr. Pire, I need to have a word with you, at once!"

Mr. Pire raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? Last time I checked, _I_ was _your_ boss, not the other way around."

"_May_ I have a word with you?"

"Very well." Mr. Pire turned back to the tied up Charmeleon. "I'll deal with _you_ later." Sophia stuck her blue tongue out at the Crobat as he darted to his subordinate. The three prisoners could just catch what the two Europeans were discussing.

"There is a problem, Mr. Pire. Somebody has infiltrated the mansion."

"What? Well, I will gladly give them an anesthetic they shall never forget--"

"They are police, sir."

"--what? P-P-P-Police?" Mr. Pire seemed to turn pale beneath his purple fur.

"Hear that, guys?" Graham exclaimed. "They police have come to rescue us!"

"Quiet, you!" Mr. Pire snapped, twirling around to glare Graham in the eye. "They have certainly not come to rescue you! Nobody knows you've been captured!" Mr. Pire turned back to Muller. "Why have they come?"

"For the children, sir."

"Woohoo!" Sophia cheered.

"You aren't helping, Muller!" Mr. Pire growled. "Who told them they were here?"

"Yamazaki. He placed a call to Governess Valkyrie last night. They showed up unexpected, and required a ride home. The detectives are here to take them."

"We can't have detectives here at a time like this! Why did you admit them to enter!?"

"I didn't. They forced their way in. If I refused there would be _more_ police."

Mr. Pire didn't reply for a moment. He tried to calm down. "Where are they now?"

"Locked in the sitting room."

"How many are there?"

"Two."

"And what are they?"

"A Rhydon and an Arbok."

"That lock won't do any good if that Rhydon tries to open it... We need a plan..."

"Code Dusknoir, sir?"

"No, no, not yet, not if I can help it."

"We could take them to the Ancestral Hall, sir."

There was a glimmer in Mr. Pire's eyes. "The Ancestral Hall? Where's that?"

Muller pointed up towards the very door that Mr. Pire had come in through. "The Ancestral Hall is difficult to reach without teleporting or flying."

Mr. Pire thought for a moment. "You _would_ know that best, I suppose..."

Graham glanced confusedly at Sophia. "How on earth are they going to do that in a short amount of time?"

Sophia thought idly. "Count, do you have any warp panels?"

The Count shook his head. "Warp Panels? Not really; I've been meaning to install a few, but..."

"Then Mr. Pire will probably Fly us up."

"He couldn't possibly lift us," Graham noted.

"No, he wouldn't just fly us up. He'd _Fly_ us up. You know, Fly! It's that trick Flying Pokemon learn in high school that gives them the strength to carry heavy objects across the country."

Graham faked realization. "_Oh_, _that_ Fly." He had no clue how he was supposed to tell that just from her saying the word.

"I cannot believe these scoundrels are going to trap us in the most sacred room in the entire mansion. How humiliating!"

"Why is the Ancestral Hall that important, Count?"

"The Ancestral Hall was where my ancestor Lord Yamazaki carried over his valuables when he came here from Kanto. It is the pride and joy of the Yamazaki line; I'm sure the Valkyries have their own Ancestral Hall in their castle too. All the previous lords of this mansion's coffins are in that room."

"So it's more of a crypt than a hall," Sophia shuddered.

"It's family tradition that the current lord of the mansion never enters the Ancestral Hall until the time of his death." Count Yamazaki bowed his head. "I suppose my fate is sealed."

Graham opened his mouth to say something, but before he could Count Yamazaki vanished before his eyes. Mr. Pire had snatched him into the air so quickly it had been a blur. With the Weavile and Isabelle on top of him, the count was carried high above into the large pair of double doors on the third floor of the Grand Hall. In seconds, Mr. Pire returned and abducted Graham. "Sophia!" he cried as he was pulled into the air and out of sight.

"And now for you, my dear," Mr. Pire cackled upon returning. "Better hope I don't drop you." The Crobat grabbed Sophia and carried her up. In desperation, she let out a Flamethrower. "Hey watch it, twerp! Torch me and the Espeon dies!" Sophia didn't point her funneling flames at Mr. Pire, instead directing them towards the wall. She stopped as soon as she passed through the Ancestral door and was dropped on the floor beside Graham, Isabelle, and the Count.

The Ancestral Hall was a small, dark room. Light only shined through a single window on the back wall, its white light causing everything to cast great black shadows across the room. The room may have once been spacious, but now there was hardly any room amongst the piles and boxes of Japanese artifacts. Stacked on top of eachother here and there were long, rectangular golden boxes. Engraved in the gold were names, one for each box. They all ended with "Yamazaki," and had dates beneath them. It didn't take a Team Rocket scientist to deduce that the boxes were actually coffins.

As Mr. Pire left to tend to Muller, Graham observed some of the artifacts. The Count had described them as being from Kanto; in Graham's book, that meant Japan. There were small figurines of the many-tailed fire fox Ninetales, and a single large sculpture of a plump sumo-wrestling Hariyama. A brass gong was decorated with a picture of an Electivire shogun. It looked down at the prisoners with a look of disapproval and hatred, and Graham shrunk back at the sight of it. Looking down he saw that he, the other prisoners, and the Weavile were sitting on a neatly woven rug designed with a floral pattern depicting Cherrims and Bellossoms dancing in the sun. It almost gave Graham a glimmer of hope, until he saw beneath them a Dusknoir surrounded by Froslass. He realized the rug was telling a story of the seasons: dancing and happiness brought the flowery spring, while the coming of death brought the cold winter. If such was the case, he feared that November was to be his downfall. "This looks more like a storage room than an ancestral hall, Count," Graham remarked.

"As time passed we begun to run out of room. That is all I can say." The Count regarded the room with interest of his own. "I have never seen this chamber before in my lifetime; only the artifacts of which my own father died with."

Mr. Pire returned with Muller. As soon as they were in, Muller silently shut the door. "Alright, ladies and gentlemen," Mr. Pire announced quietly. "I want to get one thing straight: this room is to be silent! Nobody will know we are up here, got it?" The prisoners all looked at each other and somberly nodded.

-

Dan and Wes walked into the massive Grand Hall. "Wow... Isn't this fantastic?" Dan remarked, regarding the room with awe and respect.

"Don't forget what we're here for, pardner," Wes reminded coldly. "Bronco, where'd that Muller fella get off to?" Wes' Piloswine sniffed the floor briefly and ran to a spot on the floor. He began circling it, but did not leave the spot.

Dan watched the Piloswine with confusion. "Okay... What about you, Gossamer? Can you sniff out the kids?" Gossamer took in a deep sniff and trotted to a spot separate from Wes' Piloswine but still a single point on the floor. "That's strange, Wes... Why do you think they are acting that way?" Dan scratched his head.

"What was_sssss_ that filly again, Dan?"

"Filly? Oh, uh, the girl? She was a Charmeleon."

"Then get a load of this_sssss_." Wes pointed at a black column seemingly burnt into the wall. "Looks_sssss_ a lot like fire marks_ssssss_. I reckon the filly and her compadre are up there." He pointed up towards the ceiling, to a large door accessible only by a high-up bridge. "Does_sssss_n't look like there's_sssss_ any way up there. I reckon they flew."

"Could have been a WP," Dan suggested.

"Nah, I don't reckon a plac_ccccc_e as_sssss_ old as this_sssss_ would have a WP." He looked carefully at the burn marks. "I'm _sssss_starting to agree with ya, Dan. _Ssssss_something doesn't _sssss_seem right about this_ssssss_. We need to get up there, pronto." The Arbok sighed, at a loss for any idea. "I jus_ssssss_t don't know _how_."

Dan gazed up at the door for a while. Quietly, almost awkwardly, he mumbled, "I could toss ya..."

"What did ya _sssss_say, pardner?"

"I'm really strong. I could probably toss you up there."

Wes though a moment. "Yeah, that might work... Alright, let's_ssss_ do it." Dan lifted the snake with ease. "Be careful now, Dan. I don't want to be killed!"

"Don't worry, I'll be careful..." Dan stepped behind Wes and grabbed the serpent's sides.

"OUCH! Not _ssss_so tight!"

"Sorry..." Dan loosened his grip and lifted the purple Arbok into the air. He was about to toss him when he thought of something. "Hey, maybe you should take Gossamer and Bronco up there with ya."

Wes nodded. "Good idea, pardner." He reached in his pocket and pulled out a small red-and-white orb. He tapped a button on it, causing it to expand. "Bronco, return!" he called, pointing it at his Piloswine. A red light enveloped the Piloswine and it vanished into the sphere. Dan reached in his own coat pocket and pulled out a black orb with golden lining around the equator.

"You too, Gossamer!" he said. A bright white light fired from the orb and vaporized Dan's Swinub. Dan handed his orb to Wes.

"How are ya gonna get up, Dan?" Wes asked worriedly.

"I'll probably have to climb up the wall," Dan contemplated, glancing at the sides of the Grand Hall. "I hope Count Yamazaki doesn't mind some dents..."

"Alright, Dan, I'm ready," Wes announced. Dan nodded.

"On the count of three. One... Two..." Dan pulled Wes' long body down and aimed. He quickly ran over physic calculations in his head to be doubly sure; a single miscalculation would be fatal to Wes' life. "Three!" Dan swung his arms up and let go of Wes, launching the snake high into the air. Wes shot through the air like a dart, his thin, long body cutting through the air molecules like a hot knife through butter. With his free hand he reached out and grabbed the railing of the 3rd Floor Catwalk. With great strength he pulled himself out of the air and onto the catwalk.

"I made it, Dan!" he called down to his comrade. "Now ya gotta join me!"

Dan nodded. "I'll be right there!" With a pinch of guilt, he clenched his fist, swung his arm back, and struck the wall with a Hammer Arm. "I hope I won't have to pay damages," he muttered to himself before taking his other arm and striking the wall a bit higher than the first blow. He kicked two more dents into the marble wall down by his feet.

"Are ya gonna be alright, Dan? Ya haven't Rock Climbed in a loooong while..."

"Of course I'll be alright," Dan smiled nervously. "Just as long as I don't look down! Please don't look down..." He stuck his hands in the upper holes and his feet in the lower holes, then made two more holes above his feet and put them in those. He began ascending the wall, making dents in it to use as footholds. His progress was a bit slow, but he kept a good momentum. It wasn't strenuous work; not for a strong Rock Pokemon like him, whose Rhydon species were skilled in mountaineering abilities. But he had a powerful fear of heights, and he struggled to keep looking up instead of down.

Just as Dan was nearing the midpoint, a small mustelid dropped from the ceiling onto the catwalk next to Wes. It glared at Wes, then rose its paws to reveal razor-sharp claws. "Uh-oh, Dan, we've got trouble!" Wes yelled to his partner.

"What... Urgh... What is it?" Dan managed back, talking difficult with all the muscles being used.

"A Weavile; don't you worry, pardner, I'll handle it."

"Hold on, Wes, I'm coming!" Dan doubled the speed of his ascent.

Wes pressed the button on his orb again, and a beam of light fired onto a spot on the floor between Wes and the Weavile. Where the light hit, his Piloswine materialized. "Heads_ssss_ up, Bronco, we've got vermin to dis_ssss_pos_sss_e of!" Wes explained. The Weavile wasted little time attacking; it charged gracefully at the Piloswine and pulled back its scythe-like claws, preparing to strike. The Piloswine imitated the gesture, charging towards the Weavile full-throttle with its tusks. The Piloswine's Take Down was effective, knocking the Weavile back, but it just got up and tried again. The Piloswine behaved similarly. There wasn't much else it could do; there was no earth to use for Ground attacks (strong against Weavile), and Ice attacks wouldn't do much against another Ice Pokemon.

Wes decided to help his Pokemon out. With a flapping sound his cobra hood burst open, revealing a startling and malevolent face. He stared deep into the Weavile's eyes and it briefly was distracted from the Piloswine; the Glare stopped it short for a moment, letting the Piloswine strike again.

The Weavile wasn't stupid, though, and instead of repeating a failed endeavor it instead jumped into the air, bounced off of the Piloswine's head, and attacked Wes directly. Wes narrowly dodged out of the way of its claws, allowing it to continue through the air to the other side of the catwalk. The Arbok reached into his pocket quickly, but brought it back out empty-handed. "Gosh darn it!" he cursed. "Dan! Did you bring your Remoraid?"

"Yeah! Why, did you forget your's?"

"Nobody's_ssssss_ perfect, pardner!"

"Can't you just Bind it?"

"Do you know how sharp a Weavile's_ssssss_ claws_sssssss_ are? Not even my own _ssssss_scales_ssssss_ would withs_ssss_tand them!" Wes lashed an Iron Tail at the Weavile and knocked it away.

"Well hang tight for just a moment," Dan called. "Let me just pull myself up..." Two grey hands reached up onto the sides of the railing on the catwalk. There was a grunt, and a Rhydon pulled himself up from underneath. Dan swung himself over the railing and pulled a red-and-blue orb from his pocket. He pressed the button on the capsule and a grey, pistol-like fish materialized in his other hand. "Hold it, Weavile!" Dan commanded, pointing the fish's mouth at the mustelid preparing another attack. "I've got a Remoraid, and I'm not afraid to use it!" The Weavile wasn't fazed and launched itself towards Dan in preparation to make an Ice Punch. Dan instinctively ordered the Remoraid, "Flamethrower!" A blast of fire shot out of the Remoraid's mouth and incinerated the Weavile in its tracks. It screamed in pain, but collapsed to the floor. One more Take Down from the Piloswine, and it fell from the catwalk to its doom.

"Poor thing," Dan murmured. "But I had to do what I had to do."

Wes motioned to the closest door. "Come on, pardner! We're goin' in!"

* * *

**A Note from the Author:** For the record, as cool as Wes is, he's bloody obnoxious to write dialogue for. All those italics...

Don't forget to review!


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